It's thanks to Piers I'm now more resilient on air

SUSANNA Reid has credited her former breakfast TV co-host Piers Morgan for helping her become a stronger character on air.

- Chris Riches

And she says she and her fellow women presenters are not fighting growing old on screen, but "accepting, welcoming and enjoying" it.

In a candid interview, the mum of three also says she does not blame Holly Willoughby leaving This Morning and how being runner-up on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 led her to her Good Morning Britain job.

She says being opinionated is one of her greatest assets and she and straight-talking Piers, 58, are "in touch all the time".

Their five years hosting ITV's GMB show helped her realise she could not sit on the fence over news matters.

Susanna, 53, says: "He said, 'You've got to have an opinion on stuff'. That was really empowering and now I carry that with I'm now much stronger and more resilient when people disagree with me. That's something new in my 50s."

 And she says women in the TV spotlight are no longer scared of wrinkles.