Dan Walker has said he thinks Piers Morgan “overstepped the mark” over their breakfast TV rivalry.
When Morgan presented ITV’s Good Morning Britain, he would often compare viewership ratings with the ones amassed by BBC Breakfast, which Walker hosted.
However, Walker disregarded Morgan in a new interview while discussing whether he will become more of a straight-talker now he’s left the BBC for Channel 5.
“I’m sure I’ll have more freedom to express an opinion if I want to, but I’m fighting against personality TV,” he told The Times, adding: “You can only be authentic to who you are but I don’t want to portray a persona like Piers. And I’ve never dipped to his level of insults.”
Elaborating, Walker said: “I think he overstepped the mark when he smashed a mug with my face on it.”
Walker was referring to the moment in 2017 when Morgan smashed a cup that had the BBC Breakfast logo on it live on air; Walker’s face was not on the mug.
“I don’t need to do that sort of thing,” he continued. “When I first started at BBC Breakfast, I met him at a function and he said, ‘You’re going to be terrible. We’re going to annihilate you.’ But my attitude was to remain quietly confident.
“And I met him again after he walked off GMB and I told him, ‘All those years you were on GMB you mentioned me almost every day and we didn’t mention your name once until the day you left…
“I think there is room for both styles of broadcasting, but Piers? That’s not a persona I could inhabit because I would feel very fake.”
Walker currently presents bulletins on 5 News, which airs weekdays.
