Sharon Osbourne follows Piers Morgan to new channel TalkTV

Separate head shots of Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne smiling for cameras.

March 18, 2022 2:09 PM PT

Sharon Osbourne is coming back with “The Talk” — but not the CBS version. Rather, she’ll be debuting a new show by that name this spring on the U.K.’s TalkTV, the News Corp.-owned channel that also has Piers Morgan on its roster.

“What I’m really looking for in my co-workers at TalkTV is somebody who is, well, a bit like me,” Morgan said Thursday in a video posted on Twitter. “Very opinionated, fearless, funny, knows their own mind, not afraid to speak it, unpredictable, maybe a little bit dangerous.

“But also,” he continued, “somebody who, every time they open their gobby little mouth, it makes global news.”

At that point, the camera shifted and Osbourne was revealed, asking, “Uh, where do I sign, Piers?”

Osbourne’s new show will have her hosting “five opinionated famous faces,” according to a News Corp. release, for an hour each weeknight as they discuss issues including politics, crime, health and entertainment. It will be broadcast in the U.K. only.

“Sharon has built a unique and hugely successful media career, combining strong views and opinion with a lot of warmth and fun. Her unbounding energy will make her show compelling viewing,” News UK Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks said Thursday in a statement, “and we are delighted to give her a new home at TalkTV.”

There is no set start date for the show other than spring 2022, a season that officially begins Sunday.

Morgan and, in turn, Osbourne opened their “gobby little mouths” in 2021 after Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, did an interview with Oprah Winfrey that threw race-based shade on the British royal family.

Morgan quit “Good Morning Britain” abruptly after heated exchanges with co-hosts in which he refused to believe what Meghan was saying. He was accused of racism, but he said he simply thought the duchess was lying about having suicidal thoughts.

Osbourne then defended Morgan — her former colleague on “The X Factor” — during her stint on CBS’ “The Talk.” She wound up getting suspended and then fired after that defense led to a racism-focused debacle with co-panelist Sheryl Underwood on live TV. In canning her, CBS said that her behavior “did not align” with its values.

Six months later, despite a record-setting number of viewer complaints, Morgan’s “GMB” remarks were cleared by Britain’s media regulator, which said he hadn’t breached the country’s broadcast code. Osbourne got no such redemption in the U.S. market.

It was all very uncomfortable — but hugely popular with readers and viewers and others who were riveted as the drama unfolded.

Morgan announced his return to TV earlier this month, on the one-year anniversary of his quitting “GMB.” He’d previously signed a deal with News Corp. and Fox News Media, and his show will run on U.S. streaming service Fox Nation, TalkTV in the U.K. and Sky News Australia.

“I’m delighted to now be returning to live television with a new prime-time show whose main purpose will be to cancel the cancel culture, which has infected societies around the world,” he said March 9 in a video posted on Twitter.

“I want it to be a platform for lively, vigorous debate, the news-making interviews and that increasingly taboo three-letter word: fun,” he continued. “I also want it to annoy all the right people.” The show’s YouTube channel is already live.

And here’s a little gift for those unfamiliar with the British term “gobby”: It means talking too much or saying things that should not be said. You’re welcome.

Sharon Osbourne heading back to TV alongside the pal whose drama got her in trouble

More to Read

More From the Los Angeles Times