Piers Morgan has said he and former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson have managed to resolve their personal issues with one another.
The two broadcasters famously fell out after a much-publicised incident at the 2004 British Press Awards when Morgan was still the editor of the Daily Mirror.
Reports at the time claimed an inebriated Clarkson “ambled over to the Mirror’s table […] and attacked, swinging a right hook at Morgan”.
Morgan has now said that, although he and the Clarkson’s Farm star don’t see eye to eye, the pair did manage to settle their indifferences.
“It all kicked off like the Wild West and we feuded for about 10 years,” the journalist told The Times. “Terrible abuse. Then he texted me. ‘Morgan. Clarkson here. Drink?’”
Morgan said that they went to his local pub and “all the locals were like, ‘holy f***, it’s going to kick off’.” Instead, they “basically agreed we weren’t going to be best friends, but sort of agreed just not to hit each other”,
Speaking about the brawl, Morgan said during a TV appearance in 2015 that Clarkson punched him three times.
“He permanently scarred me above my temple because he had a ring on, but the good news was he broke his little finger hitting my head because I’m that hard,” the broadcaster said.
In a 2022 piece for The Times, Clarkson said that The Mirror had written "unpleasant stories"about him which sparked his violent reaction.
Clarkson said: "'Why’s your f****** wife looking at me like that?' he [Piers Morgan] thundered. So I punched him. And then I punched him again. And then I thought: 'You know what? I don’t think this would ever get boring.' So I punched him again. And, annoyingly, broke my finger."
At the time, Clarkson’s publicist told The Independent that the incident at the Press Awards was just “a girlie slap”.
The two have more publicly buried the hatchet having reflected on the fracas during Morgan’s appearance on the 2020 Who Wants to be a Millionaire Christmas Special.
During the quiz show, Morgan used his “Ask the Host” lifeline, which involved seeking advice from Clarkson on a tricky question.
“I can think of a million reasons why I shouldn't trust you, including this scar on my forehead," Morgan joked, to which Clarkson replied: "And there's your broken finger, from when he struck me."
