Piers Morgan has opened up on the message which squashed the beef between him and Jeremy Clarkson.
It's fair to say that the journalist and the former Top Gear host haven't exactly seen eye-to-eye in the past, with the tension coming to a boil in an infamous physical altercation at the 2004 British Press Awards, while Morgan was the editor of the Daily Mirror.
Speaking on TV show Play to the Whistle back in 2015, Morgan admitted that while many thought it was a single punch from Clarkson which connected with him, 'it was actually three punches'.
“He permanently scarred me above my temple because he had a ring on, but the good news was he broke his little finger hitting my head because I’m that hard,” Morgan said of Clarkson's alleged attack.
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Reflecting on the incident, Clarkson said in a piece for The Times back in 2022 that Morgan's publication wrote some 'unpleasant stories' about him, as Morgan admitted they 'published photographs of him in a compromising position with someone' who wasn't his wife at the time.
Clarkson recalled his wife giving his rival 'one of her hard stares from across the room', to which Morgan said: "Why’s your f***ing wife looking at me like that?"
The Diddly Squat Farm owner then wrote: "So I punched him. And then I punched him again. And then I thought: 'You know what? I don’t think this would ever get boring.' So I punched him again. And, annoyingly, broke my finger," as reports said he 'ambled over to the Mirror’s table' to get to Morgan.
But in a new interview with The Times, Morgan revealed how him and Clarkson got past their differences, explaining: “It all kicked off like the Wild West and we feuded for about 10 years,
“Terrible abuse. Then he texted me. ‘Morgan. Clarkson here. Drink?’”
He then revealed that they went to a pub, recalling: "All the locals were, like, holy f**k, it’s going to kick off. But we basically agreed we weren’t going to be best friends, but sort of agreed just not to hit each other."
Sounds like a fair trade.
If you don't believe that the pair have got over their hatred for one another, then look no further than Morgan's appearance as a contestant on the 2020 Who Wants to be a Millionaire Christmas Special, a show hosted by Clarkson since 2018.
The pair even shared a moment of back-and-forth banter between one another, as Morgan used his 'Ask the Host' lifeline, needing help from his new mate.
“I can think of a million reasons why I shouldn't trust you, including this scar on my forehead," Morgan quipped, adding: "And there's your broken finger, from when he struck me."
Finally, he said: "I'm going to say the words I never thought I'd say...I trust you. I believe you. At least this way if I'm wrong, it's your fault."
Clarkson then gave him the right answer, to which Morgan said he would 'kiss you, if I could' and give his former enemy 'a big Christmas hug', much to Clarkson's (playful) disgust written across his face.
Topics: Piers Morgan, Jeremy Clarkson, TV, Celebrity
Joshua Nair