Clarkson’s Blow Left a Permanent Scar — Yet His Unexpected Reaction Revealed Everything

Piers Morgan has opened up about the time that Jeremy Clarkson punched him in the head and scarred him.

The event occured back in 2004, when the pair both attended the British Press Awards.

Clarkson Farm star Jeremy, 65, wasn’t happy with journalist Piers, 60, who was editor of the Daily Mirror at the time, after he published some snaps of him with a woman that was not his wife.

Jeremy allegedly asked Piers not to use the pictures in the newspaper, but he did so anyway.

Piers wrote about the moment in his new book Woke Is Dead, explaining: ‘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.’

But, since then, they have managed to patch things up.

Piers said of their reconciliation: ‘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.’

He added: ‘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.’

Meanwhile Jeremy recalled what happened, writing in The Times back in 2022: ‘”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.’

More recently, they appeared on ITV’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire together.

Piers took part in the show, that Jeremy presents, as part of the Christmas special in 2020.

During his stint on the programme, Piers had to use the ‘ask the host’ lifeline, meaning that he had to rely on Jeremy to help him.

Piers told Jeremy: ‘I can think of a million reasons why I shouldn’t trust you, including this scar on my forehead.’

‘And there’s your broken finger, from when he struck me,’ Jeremy told him.

Confirming his appearance on the programme to fans, Piers said on X: ‘BREAKING. Yes, it happened.

‘I’ve appeared on Celebrity Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, hosted by a man who once repeatedly punched me in the head.

‘It airs on ITV on Boxing Day (appropriately) and it went… well…. let’s just say I don’t think the public will be disappointed.’

And then most recently, Piers has appeared on Jeremy’s Prime Video show Clarkson’s Farm, when he wanted some advice on purchasing The Farmer’s Dog pub.

Before chatting with Piers, who has owned pubs in the past, Jeremy explained to viewers: ‘I started with a chap who has been a dear friend for decades.’

‘People steal stuff from pubs. Every publican will tell you. They’ll nick the salt and pepper pots. They’ll nick knives and forks,’ Piers told him.

‘They might even nick plates. They’ll nick any art they can rip off the walls.’