Piers Morgan stormed off the Good Morning Britain set on Tuesday morning after clashing with the show’s weather presenter Alex Beresford during a heated discussion about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
Alex labelled Piers “pathetic” and called out his “diabolical behaviour” as he dramatically walked off the show.
The morning after Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Meghan and Harry was aired on ITV, the two presenters engaged in a tense debate about the royal couple.
After Alex pointed out Piers’ past friendship with Meghan – and the fact she had subsequently “cut him off” – it all proved a bit too much for the host.
Defending the couple, Alex said: “They’ve had an overwhelming amount of negative press.
“You know, I watched the programme yesterday and, yes, they had some great press around the wedding, but what press is going to trash someone’s special day?
“There was bad press around the engagement before the engagement, and everything that has followed since has been incredibly damaging, quite clearly, to Meghan’s mental health and also to Harry.
“And I hear Piers say William has gone through the same thing but, do you know what, siblings experience tragedy in their life and one will be absolutely fine and brush it off and the other will not be able to deal with it so strongly and that is clearly what has happened with Harry in this situation.
“He walked behind his mother’s coffin at a tender, tender age, in front of the globe. That is going to shape a young boy for the rest of his life, so I think that we all need to take a step back.”
He continued: “And I understand that you don’t like Meghan Markle. You’ve made it so clear, a number of times on this programme. A number of times.
“And I understand that you’ve got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle and she cut you off, she’s entitled to cut you off, if she wants to. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has. But yet you continue to trash her.”
At that moment, Piers told the presenter and weather forecaster: “OK, I’m done with this.”
As he walked off the set he added “sorry no... can’t do this”.
Criticising Piers’ “diabolical behaviour”, Alex continued: “I’m sorry but Piers spouts off on a regular basis and we all have to sit there and listen. Six-thirty to seven o’clock yesterday was incredibly hard to watch. Incredibly hard to watch.
“This… he has the ability to come in here and talk from a position where he doesn’t fully understand.”
Susanna Reid then urged everyone to calm down before the show cut to a break.
Piers later returned as Susanna explained: “What it’s done is raise a lot of emotions.”
Piers then chimed in: “What we need to do Alex is talk to each other in a civilised manner given we work on the same show on the same team.
“You launching into a pretty personally derogatory monologue on one of your colleagues probably isn’t one of the best ways to go about it.”
Piers then added: “As much as I’d like to sit here taking abuse from you, that’s not going to happen.”
Alex then explained his criticism of Piers, saying: “I’m not trying to come on this show and tear you apart. Just because we’re on the same side we don’t have to have the same view… I’m by no means accusing you of being racist.”
Tensions between Piers and Alex had been fraught ever since they clashed over Meghan and Harry on Twitter last weekend.
Alex tweeted: “You ever stop and think maybe you should give this woman carrying a baby a break?”
Piers fired back: “You mean like she’s giving a 94-yr-old woman a break as her husband lies in hospital?”, referring to Prince Philip’s recent hospitalisation.
Alex then referred to the allegations against Prince Andrew, writing: “I reckon Andrew has given her a harder time… but yeah let’s get back to Meghan…”
On Monday morning’s edition of GMB, Piers was pretty much in full meltdown about Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah after it aired in the US on Sunday evening.
However, even Susanna Reid seemed shocked at just how far his lack of sympathy for the Duchess of Sussex extended, after Piers dismissed Meghan’s comments about the suicidal feelings she experienced at the height of her crisis in the monarchy.