Entertainment
Inside Piers Morgan and Dan Walker’s feud as former Good Morning Britain host brands BBC star a ‘nasty piece of work’
Piers Morgan has reignited his feud with Dan Walker, branding the BBC Breakfast host a ‘nasty piece of work’ in his latest column.
The former Good Morning Britain star certainly doesn’t hold back when it comes to Dan, after they competed against each other for a good five years on breakfast TV.
Their relationship ranges from friendly banter to some seriously shady comments, with the pair clashing over, well pretty much everything from ratings and interview styles, to Piers’ infamous recent comments on Meghan Markle.
Dan recently spoke out about their ‘friendly rivalry’ to The Times, telling the publication: ‘He likes to throw a few insults around, but underneath all the froth I think there is a decent bloke fighting to get out.’
However, Piers wasn’t having any of it, writing in his MailOnline column: ‘My supremely virtuous former breakfast TV show rival Dan “Halo” Walker said about me today: “Underneath all the froth, I think there is a decent bloke fighting to get out”.’
‘Ironically, I’ve always thought that underneath all Dan’s faux saintly froth, there’s a nasty piece of work fighting to get out.’
The ratings war
While Piers joined GMB in October 2015, Dan took on his role on BBC Breakfast from February 2016, taking over from Bill Turnbull.
Naturally, it didn’t take long for them to start comparing their ratings – and for them to take to Twitter.
In 2016, Piers responded to backlash over him eating two £5 notes on the show, with Dan quipping: ‘You trying to buy viewers now Piers?’
Cut to five years later, and nothing much has changed. Following Piers’ exit from GMB, he admitted he was most proud that the show managed to beat BBC Breakfast’s ratings.
‘I had one goal when I joined @GMB – beat @BBCBreakfast in the ratings,’ he wrote earlier this year.
‘On my last day, we did it. That was down to the hard work & dedication of the whole team. They don’t all agree with me, some don’t even like me, but we were a team..and we won. Thanks guys. I’ll miss you.’
The interviews war
With the pair hosting very similar shows on the TV schedule, they’re bound to have some overlap in interviews.
However, if there’s one thing that couldn’t be more different about Dan and Piers, it’s their interviewing style.
While Piers is known for his ruthless and challenging style, Dan takes a slightly easier approach.
Of course, both have hit out at each other’s styles – while Dan says Piers doesn’t let anyone get a word in edgeways, Piers claims that Dan is too easy on his guests, and doesn’t challenge them.
A prime example was in June 2020, when Health Secretary Matt Hancock appeared on BBC Breakfast, with Dan taking a swipe at Piers’ interviewing style.
‘It is essential that politicians are allowed to speak,’ he said. ‘The idea (from some) that we, and others, don’t challenge ministers is completely untrue. Important to ask questions Important to press Important to let you listen.’
Piers wasn’t having any of it, simply responding: ‘Mate, you blew it. Calm down.’
The book war
Dan and Piers both publishing a book in the same year was only ever going to cause chaos.
The BBC star released his book, Remarkable People, in October, a mere two weeks after Piers released his, Wake Up.
A couple of weeks later, Piers definitely didn’t pull any punches, sharing a photo of the Sunday Times Bestseller List and writing: ‘BOOM! Week No4 on Sunday Times best-seller list for Wake Up. Wenger relegated, Schofe overtaken, Ant & Dec dead & buried, & @mrdanwalker nowhere to be seen.. not that I’m competitive or anything. Thanks to everyone who’s bought it – and to those who haven’t yet: WAKE UP!’
However, Dan clearly wasn’t in any mood to fight back, simply telling his rival: ‘Well done. I had a rifle through yours and thought it was a decent read.’
Piers’ exit
While some might have expected Piers’ departure from Good Morning Britain last month to put an end to the rivalry, if anything, it’s made it worse.
When the presenter was seen storming off set following a clash with Alex Beresford over Meghan Markle’s comments, Dan couldn’t resist a dig on Twitter.
Retweeting Louise Minchin’s photo of the pair of them on the BBC Breakfast set, he joked: ‘This was taken a few seconds before I stormed off set because Carol said it was going to be chilly this weekend.’
He went on to tell Piers: ‘Congratulations on your ratings.
‘Ours were good too. In other news… I hope my boss would have dragged me off set if I’d used my platform – on national TV – to tell a pregnant woman, speaking openly about suicidal thoughts, that I didn’t believe a word she said.’
As for when Piers’ exit was announced, Dan didn’t let up, telling him: ‘Sorry to hear the news about your departure from GMB @piersmorgan If you’d like to come on the UK’s number 1 breakfast show to talk about it… we could make some space for you in the morning.’
Ouch!
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am, while BBC Breakfast airs at 6am on BBC One.
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