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Piers Morgan confronts Brexiteer over ‘Billy big balls talk’ with £10k bet
Brexiteer MP Andrew Bridgen (right) appearing on Good Morning Britain with Piers Morgan; Twitter - Credit: Archant
Piers Morgan has challenged a pro-Brexit MP to a £10k wager over claims he made about his Good Morning Britain (GMB) presenting job.
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen claimed the GMB presenter would be sacked from the show by Christmas due to what he classed as 'through the floor ratings'.
Bridgen, who was grilled by Morgan on the show last week, told talkRADIO that he was treated unfairly on the show.
'It wasn't even an interview,' he said. 'It was a basically a monologue. I thought it was an interview, you know, he asks questions and I give some answers but rather he just shouted at me.'
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He then slammed the presenter's energetic interviewing style saying it did not 'impress everybody a great deal' before betting that Morgan 'won't be fronting that programme by Christmas.'
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'His ratings are going through the floor, not surprisingly,' he told listeners, vowing never to return to the show again.
Catching wind of Bridgen's comments, Morgan hit back with an on-air tirade, pointing out the MP had a tough time because he failed to provide any 'clarity' on the easing of the lockdown.
He said: 'Basically Bridgen defending the government's apparent consistency and clarity, then gave me completely wrong advice... despite the fact he was lecturing us on clarity and common sense, so yeah I got a bit wound up with it because it's annoying'.
On the accusations about ratings the presenter said that the MP's claims do not 'bear scrutiny'.
He continued: 'This week, we've had the highest ratings in the history of our programme in six years.'
He went on: 'As I said online last night, I don't know how confident you're feeling but I'll be here at Christmas.
'That's probably quite likely. I'm contracted through to the end of next year.'
Morgan then backed his chances in a £10,000 bet, calling on the MP to accept and 'put your money where your mouth is'.
He continued: 'If you're prepared to back up your Billy big balls talk on TalkRadio with hard cash, I'm here. If not, then pipe down.' He then defended his interviewing technique while mocking Bridgen.
''Well, I thought what you did, is you go on programmes and they ask you a question and you're allowed to spend as long as you want answering it, even if it's 20 minutes of nonsense',' Morgan said impersonating the MP for North West Leicestershire.
The feud comes after the former newspaper editor confronted Bridgen over Twitter.
'Hi @ABridgen, a) I shouted at you because you were being an idiot. b) Our ratings this week have been the highest in @GMB history. c) I'll take that bet - £10,000 to charity?' he posted.
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