Piers Morgan has reignited his feud with Bristol weatherman Alex Beresford, calling him a ‘treacherous little p***k’ in their argument over the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.
The former editor and TV interviewer told the BBC’s Amol Rajan that he walked off the set of Good Morning Britain when challenged by Alex Beresford, because the alternative was ‘losing my rag’ and ‘doing something I would regret’.
In an interview with the BBC’s Amol Rajan, Morgan spoke at length about the moment on live TV where, two days after Meghan and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey was aired, Morgan had a meltdown and stormed off the set of Good Morning Britain, after being challenged by Alex Beresford.
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The iconic moment in March 2021 began with Alex Beresford claiming Piers Morgan had a personal grudge against Meghan, which explained his criticism of the Duchess, and his refusal to believe her when she told Oprah Winfrey that tabloid criticism had left her suicidal.
“You don’t like Meghan Markle, you’ve made it clear a number of times on this programme,” Beresford said. “I understand that you have got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle or had one and she cut off. She’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has, but yet you continue to trash her,” he added.
At that point on the show, Piers Morgan said: “OK I’m done with this,” and walked off the set. He returned later that morning, but within days had left the presenting role for good.
Morgan told Amol Rajan that he did regret walking off like that. “I think it was a bit stupid to do that. I think that the context of it is probably worth just pointing out. The morning before I had lost my rag about watching this whine-a-thon with Oprah Winfrey which Meghan and Harry had done.
“As the day went on the mob on Twitter grew and it was ‘if I didn’t believe Meghan Markle, I must be a racist’, and it had nothing to do with skin colour, my criticism of her, it never has done. And then the mental health charities piled in as well, and because I didn’t believe her claims about going to the palace and saying she was feeling suicidal, and they said she couldn’t get treatment, I said I just couldn’t believe that conversation would have happened. I was also denying her claims, denying her truth,” he said.
Piers Morgan said Alex Beresford had asked to come onto Good Morning Britain the next day, and when he did, as well as defending Meghan Markle, he challenged Morgan directly.
“I don’t mind a guest doing that,” said Piers Morgan. “But I do object to someone who is asked to come on a show from the team, who then makes a very personal attack on me, and so in that moment I thought there’s two things that are going to happen here, either I’m going to completely lose my rag and do something I’m going to regret, or I’m going to go and walk off.
“I don’t like to think about what I would have done, but I was certainly looking at him thinking ‘yeah I’d better leave the room’.
“And just for the record I think he was a treacherous little pr**k,” said Piers Morgan. “He can say what he likes about me, and he can absolutely have his right to an opinion, but that is my opinion about him." Challenged by Amol on why he didn't "show a bit of generosity and a bit of an open heart" or invite him onto his talk show, he added: "I’ve got no interest in talking to him, because I think what he did was deliberately treacherous to a colleague and I just don’t think that’s acceptable."
There has, as yet, been no response from Alex Beresford, who was back on weather duties this morning on ITV. The man who was placed second on the 2021 Bristol Cool List the year of the Piers Morgan walkout tweeted this morning a simple 'Good morning x' to his followers on Twitter.
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