GMB's Richard Madeley 'divided' as he shares concern after quitting smoking '60 a day'

Good Morning Britain's Richard Madeley openly recounted his past as a heavy smoker while on the ITV show, confessing to having previously smoked "60 a day".

The veteran presenter discussed his views on the debate over outdoor smoking with co-host Kate Garraway, branding himself "grizzled and old" when talking about encounters with secondhand smoke.

Discussing experiences at public spaces, Richard commented: "Speaking as a grizzled old git, I usually know what I think about stories like this, but on this one I'm really split as an ex-smoker."

During the programme, the topic of a potential ban on alfresco smoking in areas such as pub beer gardens and children's play zones was broached.

Madeley revealed a recent personal incident, stating, "Only three or four days ago in this lovely weather, I was having a coffee on the pavement cafe in North London that I like to go to, in the sunshine.

"The guy next to me lit up, as he was completely entitled to do, and the breeze was blowing it towards me, so I was breathing in his smoke."

He continued to grapple with the nuances of public smoking rights, sharing: "I didn't know whether to say something or not, because I couldn't work out in my head whose right trumped whose his right to light up and have a cigarette on the pavement over a coffee or my right to have a coffee and read the paper without breathing in foul tobacco smoke.", reports the Mirror.

As the conversation with Garraway unfolded, Richard revealed his choice to maintain civility, noting: "Well I was tolerant, I didn't want to make a scene. And also I didn't have any right to protest."

Following Richard's confession to The Guardian of his former 60-cigarettes-a-day habit in his 20s, he admitted: "For decades I failed to quit."

It was a life-altering interview with Nigella Lawson's late husband, John Diamond, who was battling smoking-induced throat and oral cancer, that sparked the change. "That changed when Judy [Finnigan] and I interviewed...John Diamond. Afterwards, I flushed my B&Hs down the toilet and haven't touched one since."

On 'The Dr Hilary Show' podcast, Richard also linked smoking to familial health issues, stating: "I think what gave my grandfather, uncle and father their heart attacks, and the one that killed my father, as I said they were heavy smokers."

He went on to disclose a chilling fact about his father's smoking history, saying: "My dad, at one stage, was on two packs a day and he died at 49."

GMB continues weekdays from 6am on ITV.