It’s no secret that there’s not a lot of love lost between BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker and his rival Piers Morgan.
And so it was only a matter of time before Dan would comment on Piers storming off the set of Good Morning Britain on Tuesday morning.
Piers made a dramatic exit from the ITV show after clashing with his colleague, weather presenter Alex Beresford, during a discussion about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
In response, Dan shared a snap of him posing with his co-presenter Louise Minchin, which he captioned: “This was taken a few seconds before I stormed off set because Carol said it was going to be chilly this weekend.”
Obviously, it didn’t take long for Piers to respond, yet again bringing up BBC Breakfast’s ratings.
Anyone who follows the presenters on Twitter will know the two have a rivalry, which largely revolves around the viewing figures for their respective breakfast shows.
“I’m surprised BBC bosses didn’t storm in and drag you off set after yesterday’s ratings came in,” Piers tweeted.
Dan later replied, tweeting: “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.”
On Tuesday, the boss of ITV confirmed that the channel is having ongoing conversations with Piers following his controversial reaction to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The channel’s CEO Dame Carolyn McCall told reporters at ITV’s earnings conference call that although she hadn’t spoken to Piers herself, she did confirm that ITV managing director media and entertainment, Kevin Lygo had.
When she was pressed on Piers’ casting doubt on Meghan’s claims that she experienced suicidal thoughts after joining the Royal Family, Carolyn insisted: “I completely believe what she said.”
She added: “That the most important thing with mental health that ITV does and is totally committed to, is that we support, we get people to speak up, we listen, we say everyone has to listen and everyone has to believe because that’s how you get people to speak up.
“So we are very committed to that.”
The leading mental health charity Mind, which is a supporter of ITV’s mental health campaign, Britain Get Talking. has said it is in the middle of talks with ITV following Piers’ comments.
Dame Carolyn insisted that ITV had “no control” over Piers’ Twitter because he is a freelance presenter and it is his personal account.
However, that does not apply to comments he makes on ITV shows which are “different”, she said, which is why “Kevin Lygo is discussing it with Piers”.
She added that Piers “qualified” his comments on Meghan on Tuesday morning, saying he generally doesn’t believe her but does believe her comments on suicidal thoughts.
Asked if he would lose his ITV job over the issue or if she was backing him, Carolyn said: “We are dealing with that as we speak”.
She would not comment on whether ITV will support or punish the presenter.
Useful websites and helplines
Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.