Chris Tarrant reveals heartbreaking reason he quit TV after 50 years

At the end of last year, presenter Chris Tarrant revealed he was retiring from television after 52 years on-air.

His first TV appearance was back in 1972 when he was a newsreader for ATV Today. However, most people will know Chris for his long-running role on the gameshow Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Chris presented the popular series for 16 years, from its first episode in 1998 until deciding to leave in 2014.

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On Tuesday's instalment of Good Morning Britain, the 78-year-old spoke to presenters Charlotte Hawkins and Richard Madeley about his decision to step back from showbiz.

Charlotte asked: "A lot of people will be thinking, 'Well, hold on, we haven't seen Chris Tarrant on TV for ages!', Why is that?"

As Chris told the duo, people haven't missed seeing him on screen and he explained the tragic reason he decided to retire.

He replied: "I used to work like a dog, for years. I lost five really good mates, my sort of age, over about 12 months. I just thought, well, you know, I'm about the same age, I've worked very hard all my life.

"I thought, do I really want to spend the rest of my life, whether that's a year, 10 years, 20 years or whatever, do I want to spend it in radio studios and TV studios? No, I don't. So I just pop in now to plug my book and then go home again."

The 78-year-old told the two presenters that he has a 'really nice' life now and he's enjoying it.

He added: "I enjoyed working, but now I have a really good time!" Richard highlighted that Chris often gets invited to take part in reality shows, curious to know whether or not people would ever see him on one.

When Charlotte suggested he join the I'm A Celeb line-up, Chris firmly disagreed with the idea.

He replied: "No, I really wouldn't. I just couldn't stand it, I really couldn't. I don't want to lie with my head covered in maggots and them going down my trousers, no thanks."

As the interview started to wrap up, Richard told Chris that people miss seeing him on the TV, as Charlotte outed her co-star for a name mix-up when he went on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

She said: "You (Richard) kept calling Jeremy (Clarkson) Chris by mistake! So there you go, that's how much he missed you."

Chris replied: "When you do a show like that, one of the briefings, know the name of the host! It's very important."

Good Morning Britain is available to watch on ITVX.