Piers Morgan defends chatshow

Piers Morgan has spoken out in defence of his chatshow Piers Morgan's Life Stories.

Speaking on This Morning, the 44-year-old journalist-turned-presenter said that he aims to "celebrate" the lives of his interviewees.

"Yes they are in-depth, yes they are emotional - it is their life story," he said. "I always say to people, 'Only come on if you're prepared to be an open book and in return, I will celebrate your life'."

Addressing his interview with Cilla Black, which airs tomorrow on ITV1, he said: "She was a popstar in the '60s, managed by The Beatles manager Brian Epstein, became the biggest TV star in the country for 15 to 20 years and has had an incredible life.

"She was great. I interviewed her for three hours and there's no other platform on British TV where you get that chance to really go over stuff. And she really enjoyed it. She found some of it quite harrowing, some of it edgy, some of it hilarious, but the mixture over a one-hour show is compelling."

He added: "I'm not here to bury people on TV - I'd have a very short career if I did. I'm more interested in just getting the real story."

> Cilla Black breaks down on Morgan show