Adrian Chiles' Daybreak regrets

Adrian Chiles is "embarrassed" by Daybreak's huge launch.

The 43-year-old presenter - who co-hosts the troubled morning show alongside Christine Bleakley - thinks they set themselves up for "a kicking" by having such a furore whipped up over the launch of the series in September.

He explained: "It was a very big launch and that was the main thing I would have changed. It was embarrassing seeing myself on a big billboard. I wanted to keep it quiet. I don't think the British public wants to be told what to watch.

"I wish we hadn't done that and let people discover it for themselves - more low key with less fanfare. We set ourselves up for a kicking, which we duly got. It's been a stressful time but we feel that things are moving in the right direction. The scars and bruises are now starting to heal. I think we have turned a corner."

However, fronting the show - which requires Adrian and Christine to start work at 4am each morning - is taking it's toll on the former 'One Show' host, who admits he is increasingly suffering from insomnia.

Adrian added to the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I am really suffering. I just can't sleep. I don't sleep properly at all any more, unless I take a sleeping pill and knock myself out, which is not very satisfactory.

"I don't sleep for more than 40 minutes at a time. At weekend I collapse but I still can't sleep. I wake up at 3.30am and lie there until 5am or 6am. That has become an absolute nightmare."