The Grand Tour

Piers Morgan Reveals All On Jeremy Clarkson Punch-Up: “Punched Me In The Head”

Piers Morgan, an early rival of The grand Tour presenter Jeremy Clarkson, has revealed more about the now legendary punch-up the two presenters shared which left the former with permanent scarring.

Talking to the Big Fish Podcast, he described in more detail what happened when the two media titans came into contact at the 2004 Press Awards.

“That scar on my head is where he punched me in the head, we’re not exactly best buddies, although we get on fine now,” Piers admitted.

“I was editor of the Mirror and we published photographs of him in a compromising position with someone who wasn’t the then Mrs Clarkson and he didn’t like it, and next time he saw me he punched me in the head, which I thought was perfectly reasonable.”

In an interview recorded at the time, Morgan added that the then-Top Gear presenter was drunk and attempted to headbutt him in the nose:

“He then tried to headbutt me – missing my nose by about an inch,” he said.

“I think it is fair to say he was a little inebriated. He did then try to apologise but sadly I wasn’t massively enamoured by this gesture, given the mounting inflammation to various parts of my skull – although I’ve frankly taken worse batterings from my three-year-old son. I don’t think it helped that Jeremy didn’t win his award last night.”

Jeremy had previously written about this in a Sunday Times column:

“At the 2004 British Press Awards I ran into Piers Morgan, who said something unkind about my wife.

“So, even though I was calm and sober, having just come from a recording of Call My Bluff, I hit him.

And immediately a gang of portly hacks gathered round, chanting, ‘Finish it’, while the motoring editor of The Sun held everyone back by warning them that he was from Newcastle.”

In another column for The Sunday Times, he coaxed Morgan into yet more rivalry:

“Cheer up, Piers. You can always get a job as my punchbag,” he wrote.

“I punched him. And then I punched him again,” he said reflecting on the assault.

Since this, the two worked together on Jeremy’s quiz show, Who Wants To Be A Milloinaire?, where Morgan entered into the quiz to raise money for charity.

“I can think of a million reasons why I shouldn’t trust you,” Morgan said sat opposite him. “Including this scar on my forehead.”

“And there’s your broken finger… from when he struck me.

“I’m going to say the words I never thought I’d say… I trust you. I believe you. At least this way if I’m wrong, it’s your fault.”

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: [email protected]

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