Piers Morgan thinks Scotland's got no talent… is he right?

Published on Saturday 11 April 2009 20:13

IN A career which has taken him from being a tabloid titan to a reality TV pundit he has never shied away from controversy or been known for his tact.

But now Piers Morgan has insulted an entire nation. The gaffe-prone Britain's Got Talent judge has claimed Scots make his stomach churn and have no place in the hit show.

Morgan said the auditions held north of the border for the third series of the ITV talent show were by far the worst he had witnessed.

The former Daily Mirror editor claimed the standard of acts in Scotland's largest city was woeful compared with those he had seen in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff.

"The worst city was Glasgow," he said. "It was just terrible from start to finish with only the odd ray of sunshine amid the doom and gloom. Scots on the show are about as much use as haggis – none at all, other than to make you feel nauseous."

But Daiquiri Dusk, who wowed the audience at the Glasgow with a patriotic dance routine, felt Morgan, who hosts the show with Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Ant and Dec, was guilty of some old-fashioned Fleet Street hyperbole.

The 24-year-old, whose act combines Highland dancing, comedy and burlesque, said: "Piers is being harsh in his comments. It's a fairly big generalisation and I'd have to disagree. I have seen many incredible performances from some very talented people, so I definitely don't think Scotland lacks talent."

The performer claimed the audience, which gathered at the SECC, certainly had the highest of expectations.

"The Glasgow crowd for Britain's Got Talent were tough," she said. "While waiting in the wings I heard several acts getting heckled before they'd barely begun, so I knew they were going to be a difficult audience to win over.

"I was waiting any second for the buzzers to sound, but they didn't. Once I finished, there was a stunned silence from the judges."

A spokeswoman for Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama predicted Morgan would be once again lost for words if he came to any of its shows.

She said: "We have between 700 and 800 students and they are all exceptionally talented.

"If Piers Morgan ever needs any proof of the amount of talent in Glasgow and Scotland he should come to any of our performances."

Over the decades, the institution has produced a wealth of high-profile performers, including Doctor Who actor David Tennant, Last King Of Scotland star James McAvoy, Alan Cumming, Bill Paterson and Billy Boyd, who found international fame playing a hobbit in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy.

But a spokesman for ITV played down Morgan's remarks, which he made to the men's magazine Zoo, stating: "From dance troupes, singers, magicians and comedians to dancing dogs and singing parrots, the UK, including Glasgow, has not failed to deliver the goods."

The prime-time talent show, which returned to TV screens last night , has generated huge viewing figures and made stars out of opera singer Paul Potts and teenager George Sampson, who won last year's title and 100,000 in prize money with his Singin' In The Rain dance routine.

However, last year Morgan paid a backhanded compliment to Scottish tennis ace Andy Murray stating: "Murray is not everyone's slice of haggis. He is abrasive, cocky and Scottish, a combination guaranteed to enrage most English sports fans. But I love the guy."

As editor of the Mirror, Morgan was forced to make a groveling apology during the European Championships in 1996 when his paper greeted the England v Germany semi-final with the headline, "Achtung! Surrender! For You Fritz, ze Euro 96 Championship is over."

England's eventual defeat was greeted with violence and rioting and the editor was roundly criticised for fuelling jingoism.

Morgan left his job in 2003 when it emerged that photographs which his paper published, purporting to show British prisoners abusing Iraqi prisoners, were not genuine.

Last year he sparked panic among TV viewers when he unwittingly told millions to expect an imminent terror atrocity.

Morgan, who was a guest host on daytime TV show This Morning, was seen declaring that al-Qaeda planned a major attack to disrupt the US presidential election, with the words: "I would brace yourselves for something in the next few days."

Co-host Fern Britton apologised saying: "Don't panic. Nothing is about to happen."