DAN Walker walked off stage after his rival Piers Morgan scooped a major TV award- but all was not as it seemed.
Piers' bombshell interview with Cristiano Ronaldo was today named Interview of the Year at a prestigious TRIC awards.
Sun columnist Piers, 58, was honoured for the tell-all scoop at the industry bash – with the award presented by his former breakfast TV rival Dan Walker.
In a hilarious moment, Dan jokingly pretended to storm off stage over his rival's success.
The pair took shots at each other for years on social media when Dan was at the helm of BBC Breakfast and Piers was fronting rival Good Morning Britain on ITV.
He told the crowd at Grosvenor House, London: “I know what you’re all thinking – long overdue.
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“Obviously, my initial pain at realising this was going to be presented to me by Dan Walker was then overtaken by the reality of the enormous pain he would be suffering in having to present it to me.”
As Dan comically stormed off the stage, Piers quipped: “Although quite what he knows about presenting is beyond me – it’s a joke!”
In his tongue-in-cheek acceptance speech, Piers dedicated the gong to Meghan Markle.
"I’d like to thank Meghan Markle," he said at the end of his speech.
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“Because if you think about it, without her helpful contribution to my career, I would never have got to TalkTV, I would never have done the interview and I wouldn’t be standing here with this award, so I dedicate this to Meghan.”
Piers joined Talk TV, which also won another TRIC award today for Julia Hartley Brewer's show, in April 2022 after he left ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
He quit after refusing to apologise for slamming the former royal.
Piers Morgan Uncensored: 90 Minutes with Ronaldo then aired in November across two parts.
Piers thanked his team and also the man himself.
He said: “Thank you to my brilliant team for Piers Morgan Uncensored at Talk TV and thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Only three people in the world knew he had done this interview me, him and his girlfriend, nobody else in the world
“And I knew for 24 hours, knowing the bomb was going to go off with all the repercussions. You don’t get many times in your life when that happens.
“So it was an amazing honour he chose me to do that with."
During the explosive chat for Talk TV, the footballer slated Manchester United and boss Erik ten Hag after an unhappy second spell at the club where he made his name.
The repercussions were widespread and saw the Portuguese striker, 38, leave the Red Devils just days after the interview aired.
In the interview, Ronaldo said there had been “zero” progress at United since the departure of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, the last time the club won the Premier League.
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He lashed out at United’s US owners, the Glazer family, claiming they “don’t care about the club”.
And he accused the club of prioritising marketing over football.
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