Piers Morgan is claiming that all is well when it comes to his friendship with Ant McPartlin, stating they’ve patched things up after nearly falling out in January.
It all started when Piers joked about Ant and Dec’s National Television Awards nomination for Best Presenter, saying on Good Morning Britain: “He’s been on his backside all year!
“No work, walk the dog, get up, and he still gets nominated for the NTA! I mean I love Ant but really?”
Ant didn’t respond publicly at the time, but it was fair to assume that he might not be very happy with the comment and Piers has now addressed the matter.
Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, he admitted that Ant wasn’t best pleased, explaining: “When the story came out he gave me a call and said ‘I want you to know there is no hard feelings my end, we are still pals’.
“I said ’Absolutely, mate. I don’t want to fall out over this’.”
“I was teasing really, and maybe over-egged it. Now we just move on,” Piers told him.
However, Piers is standing by his initial comment, telling the paper: “I didn’t accept I had done anything particularly wrong, I think the point I was making was a valid one and I think a lot of people felt the same way.
“But I definitely said, ‘I don’t want to hurt you or upset you’.
“I wouldn’t, he’s a mate. He then calmed down. He’s just feeling the heat a bit because he is coming back on TV and it has been a very tricky time.”
HuffPost UK has contacted Ant’s representative for comment.
In the end, Ant and Dec were triumphant in the NTA’s Best Presenter category and accepted their award on the night via videolink from the Britain’s Got Talent 2019 auditions.
An emotional Ant dedicated the award to his presenting partner, saying: “This is a genuine shock, especially this year.
“We want to say thank you to everybody. I really don’t think that I can accept this award this year.
“The one reason we won the award this year is this guy: his hard work, his wit, his dedication. Best mate in the world. I love this guy.”
Ant has now eased himself back into work after standing down from all TV commitments in March last year, mid-way through the last series of the duo’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
Dec went on to present the remaining two episodes solo, also taking charge of the Britain’s Got Talent live shows without his usual co-host.
Ant did, however, still appear in pre-recorded auditions for the series, which were filmed prior to his arrest in March.
The star received an £86,000 fine and a 20-month driving ban after he pleaded guilty to crashing his car in Richmond, south west London, while twice over the legal limit.