Piers Morgan was the fourth most searched-for person on Google in the UK this year, the tech giant has revealed.
The former Good Morning Britain host lost out to teenage tennis star Emma Raducanu, in third, who he claimed “couldn’t handle the pressure” of competing at Wimbledon earlier this year, a comment that caused backlash online.
But Morgan was Googled more times than actor Alec Baldwin, who was fifth, and rapper Travis Scott, sixth, both of whom are facing lawsuits in the US.
Footballer Christian Eriksen, who had a cardiac arrest during a Euro 2020 match, and former health secretary Matt Hancock, were the top two most Googled people.
Comedian Sean Lock was on the top 10 list of all terms searched for, following his death from cancer in August, according to the end of year report.
In TV-related searches, Netflix dominated the lists, with Korean sensation Squid Game and raunchy period drama Bridgerton the most searched for.
Both series smashed records in 2021 with Squid Game being declared “our biggest TV show ever” by the streaming giant after being watched by 142 million households around the world.
In its first 28 days on the platform, the show was watched by 111 million users, beating the previous record set by Bridgerton, which was watched by 82 million households in its first month.
The dark drama also became the first Korean programme to become the most popular series in the US.
The BBC’s Line Of Duty was the fourth most-Googled show and the question “who is H?” was seventh on the list of “who” questions.
The popular cop drama attracted an average of 12.8 million people during its final episode, in which the mysterious villain H was revealed, making it the most watched episode of a drama in 20 years, the BBC said.
“Who left Strictly?” was the third most searched for “who” question.
Viewers were also concerned about ITV’s reality show Love Island, with the show the fifth most searched for, and “when does Love Island finish?” placed 10th out of all questions put into the search engine.
“When does Love Island finish?” also placed third on the list of “when” questions and “when does Love Island start?” placed fifth.
The summer version of the show was cancelled in 2020 due to the ongoing pandemic, but returned in 2021.
The latest series was won by couple Millie Court and Liam Reardon.
On the big screen, Marvel movies were a source of much interest, with Black Widow, Eternals and Shang-Chi taking in the second, third and seventh most searched-for films respectively.
Sci-Fi blockbuster Dune, starring Timothee Chalamet, topped the rankings, and Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond in No Time To Die, was the fourth most-Googled cinema event.
Adele’s chart-topping comeback single Easy On Me came second in the rankings for lyric searches, beaten only by Lady Gaga’s Poker Face, and Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond came third, following the song’s widespread use in the Euro 2020 football tournament.