Piers Morgan slams McDonald, Wogan

Piers Morgan has hit back at Trevor McDonald after the ITN news presenter criticised his recent interview with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

McDonald had suggested that it was wrong for Morgan to give Brown an "easy ride" during his Life Stories show without giving "the same opportunity" to his opponents. He also criticised Morgan's "inappropriate", "undignified" and "impertinent" line of questioning.

Morgan told the Daily Mail: "I stared at these quotes, open-mouthed and incredulous. Is this not the same Sir Trevor McDonald whose own interview with David Cameron was widely ridiculed for having the journalistic gravitas of Bungle grilling Zippy on the set of Rainbow?

"Just for the record, I did offer the other leaders the chance to face a proper grilling from me but they opted out. Cameron apparently believed Alan Titchmarsh was a 'more substantial' first option."

He added: "As for the rest of Sir Trevor's pompous whine, I don't think it's remotely inappropriate to ask the people running our country questions that make them sound vaguely human - and neither did the Prime Minister.

"And nor, given that my interview got 4.3 million viewers, and Sir Trevor's got just 1.7 million, did the British public."

The Britain's Got Talent judge also responded to comments from Terry Wogan that he had "developed this extraordinary personality by dint of sycophancy".

Morgan said: "This from a man whose smarmy sucking up towards his own TV chatshow guests was often so toe-curling even the interviewees looked embarrassed."