Piers Morgan has taken a swipe at the former Top Gear presenting line-up of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, warning that they will “have to get used to not being big stars in this country any more”.

The Good Morning Britain host did not hold back when asked if he would be watching Clarkson’s follow-up to Top Gear, the as-yet unnamed Amazon Prime motoring show.

Piers told the Radio Times: “I never watched the old Top Gear, because my right temple still has the scar from where Clarkson walloped me (at the 2004 British Press Awards) and whenever he comes on screen, my temple twitches.

Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan (Jordan Strauss/Invision)

“But out of pure curiosity, I probably will tune in. It’s only going to be watched by about 100,000 people, so they’ll have to get used to not being big stars in this country any more.”

Jeremy and Piers have had a long-standing feud, stemming back to when Piers was editor of the Daily Mirror.

Jeremy was suspended and then later fired by the BBC after a “fracas” that saw him punching Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon.

Jeremy Paxman on the Graham Norton show
Jeremy Paxman hasn’t escaped Piers Morgan’s criticism (Yui Mok/PA)

BBC presenter Jeremy Paxman was another name on the receiving end of criticism from Piers.

When asked what he’d do if he had £8 billion to spend on the BBC, Piers quipped: “Am I allowed to fire Jeremy Paxman?”

He went on to add that the BBC needed to “go back to being a great public broadcaster” and that they should “stop letting their best talent leave”.

He said: “They shouldn’t have let Robert Peston come to ITV. That’s problematic for them, because he’s a superstar of new journalism now, and you don’t want to be losing too many people like that because I’m sure he brings an audience with him.”

Erin Caffey and Piers Morgan at the Hilltop Unit a womens prison in Gatesville, Texas. Erin at the age of 16, masterminded the brutal murder of her entire family. (ITV pictures)
Erin Caffey and Piers Morgan at the Hilltop Unit, a women’s prison in Texas. Erin was 16 when she masterminded the murder of her entire family. (ITV pictures)

The outspoken TV presenter and columnist will next be seen in ITV’s Killer Women With Piers Morgan, a series that sees him meet some of America’s most notorious female murderers.

The full interview is in this week’s Radio Times.