Outspoken broadcaster Piers Morgan has recounted a heated altercation from 2004 where Jeremy Clarkson punched him in the head amid a dispute over published photos. At the time, Clarkson, then married to his second wife Frances Cain, reportedly urged Morgan—editor of the Daily Mirror—not to run images showing him with another woman. Morgan went ahead and published them regardless.
The tension escalated at the British Press Awards, where the two clashed physically. In his latest book, Woke Is Dead, Morgan describes the incident: “He ended up punching me before we settled things at the British Press Awards. I’ve still got the scar on my forehead, and it wasn’t entirely unjustified, so I have no complaints about it, although I did think he had a very weak punch, and he did break his finger hitting my head, which is quite satisfying.”
Despite the bad blood, Morgan notes that he and the Clarkson’s Farm star have since mended fences, though they’re far from close pals. He added: “But he contacted me out of the blue and said: ‘Morgan, Clarkson here, drink?’ We met in my local pub and actually had a great night. We got his daughter and one of my sons to act as the official peace treaty ratifiers and peace in our time was agreed. I mean, we’re never going to be best buddies, but we now tolerate each other’s existence without wanting to punch each other, which I think is a major step forward.”
Clarkson has also shared his side of the story in a 2022 piece for The Times: “‘Why’s your f****** wife looking at me like that?’ he [Piers Morgan] thundered. So I punched him. And then I punched him again. And then I thought: ‘You know what? I don’t think this would ever get boring.’ So I punched him again. And, annoyingly, broke my finger.”
This revelation follows Clarkson’s recent admissions about feeling “old and broken” while managing his Diddly Squat farm. The former Top Gear host, who ventured into agriculture six years ago and turned it into a hit Amazon Prime series, frequently updates fans on his rural life. “Since I started in the fields six years ago, I’ve realised that farming is ideal for those who don’t like to work up a sweat,” he quipped. “Only mattress testers have an easier, more sedentary life.”
Among his farm equipment, Clarkson highlights his Supacat—a rugged six-wheel-drive, semi-amphibious military vehicle used for hauling wood from the woods. Designed originally to “recover broken Land Rovers from the battlefield,” the Devon-built machine excels in tough terrain. However, as he wrote in the Sunday Times, “But it is quite difficult to get in and out of if you are old and broken.”
