Piers lets rip at TV chatshow rival Ross

ITV’s latest chat show host, Piers Morgan, opened up a new front last night in his long-running feud with BBC television rival Jonathan Ross.

Piers Morgan Piers Morgan

The outspoken Britain’s Got Talent judge launched a bruising attack on the £18m BBC presenter, labelling his interviewing “sycophantic” and “smarmy”, saying his ratings were in free-fall and calling for him to be sacked.

Morgan was speaking before the launch of his own new chat show which goes out tonight on ITV1, titled Piers Morgan’s Life Stories.

For the first of six episodes he interviews former X Factor star Sharon Osbourne. In the one-hour show she claims she left X Factor because fellow judge Danii Minogue “ridiculed her for being too old”.

Morgan said of his new series that he saw an opportunity to re-invent the ailing chat show format.

He said: “What has happened to the chat show over the past 10 years is that it has morphed into an entertainment vehicle for comedians and smart-alec presenters, who mickey-take their guests for seven or eight minutes, plug some ghastly album, then get them off.

“I just thought there was a gap in the market for what I call good old-fashioned chat, in which you forensically go over someone else’s life. There are no conditions or stipulations for my six guests. None.”

Asked if he thought the Jonathan Ross-style chat show was dead, he said: “I think what’s interesting about Ross is that it started high with the comeback show because people were curious, and it’s now drifted about 3 or 400,000 below the average (ratings) for the series.

“I think it’s got problems. It’s just got very boring because he can’t be the Jonathan Ross that got him where he was.

“He can’t be lewd and offensive like he used to be, and he’s ended up being a quite smarmy and sycophantic interviewer. I don’t think he’s worth the money, and he should have been fired. I don’t think any other broadcaster on British television, working for the BBC, where your salary is paid by the taxpayer, could have done what he did to Andrew Sachs and get away with it.”

Asked about ITV’s crippling financial situation and whether he would land his reported £3m contract from the channel in the current climate, he said: “I don’t know the truth about ITV’s finances. It’s a very tough time. It’s not like they’re going bust; they’ve got plenty of money still, probably as much money as they had before. As far as my contract’s concerned, I think I’m giving them good value for money.

“They’re going to re-commission my travel show, which had 5.3m viewers.”

Morgan defended the abundance of talent shows on ITV, with Britain’s Got Talent expected to run for seven weeks this summer.

He also supported TV mogul Simon Cowell, under fire from actor Robson Green, whose Wire in the Blood drama was cancelled despite good ratings.

The actor said Cowell was “destroying British television”. Morgan responded: “I like Robson, but I think that’s complete hogwash. The idea that shows that are watched by 14 million people are destroying TV is just plain wrong. It is absolutely harmless, old-fashioned variety entertain-ment. It’s escapism for people in a difficult time when the recession is digging deep. Where is the problem with these programmes?”

Morgan, a former newspaper editor, said he didn’t feel under pressure in launching his own high-profile series.

He said: “What I want to do is establish this as a long-running platform for stars to come on and do the ultimate biographical interview.”

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