Top 10 Awkward Interviews on Good Morning Britain

Self-styled dating guru Richard La Ruina appeared on GMB in 2017 to argue that English women are all overweight and entitled. While Susanna strikes a calm and rational tone, Piers immediately goes in with both feet on his guest – and for once, we were cheering for him. Asked to give his opinion on the women around the desk, La Ruina quickly starts to backtrack. And as the attacks rain in from all sides, it is left to Piers to put the final nail in the guru’s coffin.

In 2017, a non-binary couple appeared on the show to answer questions about gender issues. Morgan is friendly to begin with, but the discussion becomes heated when he asks his guests if people can define themselves as anything they choose. And, as the couple struggle to get a word in edgeways, Morgan seems less interested in hearing their answers than he does in admiring the sound of his own voice. It’s all downhill from there, with Fox accusing Morgan of fear-mongering, and Morgan dismissing transgender issues as a “fad”.

Legendary American singer Dionne Warwick appeared on the show in 2017 to promote a benefit concert for the Dot Com Children’s Foundation. But things turn frosty when Susanna Reid tries to steer the conversation onto the death of Warwick’s cousin Whitney Houston. Instead of dropping the subject immediately, Reid tries to approach it from a different angle. Afterwards, the journalist was condemned on social media for what were deemed insensitive questions, whilst Warwick was praised for the way she put her hosts in their place.

In this joint interview with footballer Jamie Vardy and his wife Rebekah, Piers comes unstuck when he refers to Rebekah as a “WAG” – the term sometimes used to refer to the wives and girlfriends of sports stars. An ambassador for charities such as Hope Against Cancer and YoungMinds, Rebekah is unimpressed at being defined solely by her husband’s job – and she makes sure Piers knows it. Morgan tries his best to laugh off the moment, but there is no concealing his discomfort. One nil to Rebekah, we think.

These two men first fell out in 2007 when Sugar fired Morgan from “Comic Relief Does The Apprentice” – and they’ve been bickering ever since. So, when Sugar joined Morgan on the “Good Morning Britain” sofa in 2017, it wasn’t long before the two of them started trading insults. Sugar taunts Morgan for getting sacked by CNN, while Morgan compares Sugar to Sid James. All in all, it’s a colossal clash of personalities. There’s even time for Morgan to be given a taste of his own medicine, as Sugar mocks his host over his interview style.

The Irrepressible Richard Madeley has been a fill-in presenter on GMB since August 2017. He was at his awkward best in the aftermath of the Salisbury poisoning case though, when the defence secretary Gavin Williamson told Russia to “go away and shut up”. In a now-famous interview, Madeley asks the politician if he regrets his language, but when Williamson refuses to give a straight answer, Madeley swiftly loses patience – and so repeats the question over and over and over again. With neither backing down, Richard pulls the plug on the tension in the bluntest way possible. Ouch.

Poor Mariah Carey. In 2017, the American pop diva appeared on the show to talk about her upcoming UK Christmas tour. Instead, she’s ambushed by Piers Morgan with questions about a ‘breaking news’ mass shooting in Las Vegas. Until then unaware of what had happened, a clearly shocked Carey is left fumbling for words as Piers shows her footage from the tragedy. Mariah handles the moment well, but afterwards GMB faced accusations of being “classless” and “unfair” for putting the singer on the spot in such a fashion.

As a vocal critic of America’s gun laws, Piers Morgan frequently clashes with pro-gun campaigners. Not least here. In a discussion about the same mass shootings that Mariah Carey was quizzed on, American Dan Roberts infuriates Piers with his response to the tragedy. It’s a bruising encounter, with the two men trading blows as they argue over how guns can be bought in the US when Kinder Surprise Eggs are supposedly banned for the risk they pose to children. There’s no doubt that Piers wins this round, though.

In January 2017, coordinated marches took place worldwide in support of various policies including women’s rights. After Morgan dismissed the protests as “a mass hissy fit” by “rabid feminists”, sparks were inevitably going to fly at this debate about the events’ objectives. Instead of listening to his guests, Piers spends most of his time defending Donald Trump, and is eventually taken down a peg for disrespect. And just when you thought things couldn’t get more awkward, Piers makes thisill-advised suggestion.

Our top pick, and we’re looking again at the fallout from the Salisbury poisoning incident. After ex-Kremlin advisor Alexander Nekrassov claims President Putin would never kill Russian defectors, Morgan asks him what Putin meant in 2010 when he said traitors would “kick the bucket”. As tempers rise, so do the voices of the speakers. Morgan asks the same question eighteen times, while Nekrassov tries to steer the interview onto the UK’s role in the Iraq War. But, does Piers eventually get his answer?