’Coronation Street’ stars Sally Dyvenor and Connie Hyde shut down Piers Morgan during an appearance on ‘Good Morning Britain,’ in the wake of the Manchester bombings.
The actresses won praise from viewers after refuting Piers’ claims there needed to be “more concerted effort from the Muslim community” to crack down on terrorism.
The pair were due to appear on the breakfast programme to discuss ‘Coronation Street’, but were pulled into the rolling coverage of the Manchester attack, given it is where the soap is based.
“Right now, we are in a state of shock,” said Sally, who plays Sally Metcalfe on the soap.
“The people of Manchester are strong and resilient but this is terrible. It will make you worry about going to places like the Manchester Arena.”
As Piers told them it was time to start getting angry about terrorism, Connie hit back, saying: “At the moment, I don’t know if that is helping the families affected today. I think this is anger and we should not think like that.”
Piers argued: “I think anger is the right emotion, I do.”
Connie, who plays Gina Seddon on ‘Corrie’, responded: “Well, for you maybe.”
Sally continued: “We cannot do that. This was just one individual. It’s very rare and we cannot allow this to stop us. We have to carry on.
“I woke up this morning and couldn’t believe it. But we have to think of all the wonderful things people did last night. The way that people were coming out to help one another was amazing. Love has to come through, not hate. We have to remember all the good things people are doing and not concentrate on the hate.”
Sally and Connie were widely praised on Twitter for the way they dealt with Piers’ comments:
Police have confirmed 22 people were killed and 59 injured following the explosion at Manchester’s MEN Arena on Monday (22 May) night, which happened after an Ariana Grande concert.
The US singer said she was “broken” in a tweet posted in the early hours of Tuesday morning, adding: “From the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don’t have words.”
She has since reportedly postponed the European leg of her world tour “indefinitely”.
Stars such as Katy Perry, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Gary Barlow and Nicki Minaj also paid tribute to the innocent victims on their social media accounts, while Piers’ ‘Good Morning Britain’ co-host Susanna Reid broke down in tears while covering the story earlier in the show.
‘Good Morning Britain’ airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.