Piers Morgan has quit his role as a judge on Britain's Got Talent because he will be too busy working on his new CNN show.

The 45-year-old former newspaper editor, who will take over from Larry King in January, has written in his Live magazine column:

"I can confirm that I'll have to quit BGT. I'll be ensconced in New York interviewing popes, presidents, pugilists and pop stars when the auditions are filmed next year.

"It's been an amazing experience, though, and I leave with fantastic memories."

There are numerous celebrity names being tipped to replace Piers and join Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden on the judging panel.

Sharon Osbourne and David Hasselhoff, who have both worked on the American version of the show, are rumoured to be in the running as are Louis Walsh, Robbie Williams and Gavin and Stacey star James Corden.