Yahoo News TV's 10 Most Dramatic Walk-Outs Ever
There were tense scenes in a trailer for Piers Morgan’s new talkTV show this week, as Donald Trump appeared to storm out of an interview with the former Good Morning Britain presenter.
In the 30-second clip, the pair are seen clashing over Trump’s claims that the last US election was rigged, and appears to show him walking out of the meeting in what is being billed as “the most explosive interview of the year”.
Trump has since said the promo of his “long and tedious interview” was doctored to suggest that he stormed out of the room – something Piers has contested.
His apparent walk out put us in mind of many others that have happened on TV and in interviews over the years (not least a certain one from Piers himself) – here’s 10 of the most dramatic...
Bee Gees on Clive Anderson All Talk
The Bee Gees made an appearance on Clive Anderson’s BBC chat show back in 1997, and they didn’t take too kindly to the host’s humour.
Throughout the interview, Clive made repeated jokes about their songs and their original intended name, ‘Les Tosseurs’.
Eventually, the band had enough and one-by-one got up from their seats and walked off.
Reflecting on the interview some 23 years later, Clive told the Daily Express he believed he’d got the “pitch” of it wrong.
He said: “The Bee Gees went from the best to the worst in a few minutes, unfortunately. I think I got the pitch of that wrong, as the evidence shows they only stayed for however long they stayed for.”
“I do quite like interviewing musicians so I thought interviewing the Bee Gees would be good fun, but for whatever reason we didn’t quite hit it off. It was all a bit of a shame.”
Kim Woodburn on Loose Women
Loose Women panellist Coleen Nolan was brought together with her former Celebrity Big Brother adversary Kim Woodburn in an attempt to settle their feud live on the daytime show.
However, things quickly turned nasty between the pair, with Kim breaking down as she discussed her traumatic childhood, before walking off the show and branding Coleen “lying trash”.
Loose Women producers were heavily criticised for not intervening, with the incident attracting more than 8,000 complaints to Ofcom. However, the TV watchdog later cleared the programme of any wrongdoing.
Preston on Never Mind The Buzzcocks
Back in the mid 00s, The Ordinary Boys singer Preston was famed for his appearance on Celebrity Big Brother and his whirlwind romance with housemate Chantelle Houghton.
When Preston appeared on music quiz show Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Chantelle was the subject of taunts from presenter Simon Amstell, which did not go down well with the musician.
After Simon began reading extracts from Chantelle’s autobiography, Preston got up from his seat and walked off the show, not to return.
Two years later, Preston reflected on the moment in an interview with the BBC, saying he “struggled to think why I would have acted so weird”, and added of Simon: ”[He is] funny, charming and likeable, which made it [walking off] all the more embarrassing.”
Joan Rivers on CNN
The late Joan Rivers was being interviewed about her new book in 2014, but took issue when she felt the interviewer was asking questions that were a little too on the serious side.
Eventually, the comedian stormed off completely, the final straw being when she was asked about her choice to wear fur on the cover of her book.
Joan later told The Hollywood Reporter: “The CNN interviewer was a news reporter and not an entertainment reporter. She did not seem to understand we were talking about a comedy book and not the transcripts from the Nuremberg Trial.
“Every question was an accusatory one designed to put me on the defensive.”
S Club 7 on Liquid News
Yes, that is a pre-fringe Claudia Winkleman attempting to ask S Club 7 about pay.
But it turns out the band’s management were not exactly impressed with the presenter’s attempts to quiz them on their finances during an interview on the now-defunct BBC Choice show Liquid News back in the early 00s.
Their publicist stormed onto set and rounded up the group and yanked them from the sofa, leaving Claud flummoxed.
Patsy Palmer on Good Morning Britain
Former EastEnders star Patsy Palmer did a Covid-era version of a walk-out when she pulled down the lid of her laptop while appearing on Good Morning Britain via Zoom in 2021.
The actor cut short an interview on the ITV breakfast show, unimpressed that producers had flashed up a graphic reading: “Patsy Palmer: Addict to wellness guru”.
Taking to Instagram after the incident, Patsy explained that she didn’t want to “waste” her time talking about the past with hosts Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard.
She wrote: “I have always been very open and honest at certain times in my life as many people are forced to be in the public eye…
“I was supposed to be on there to talk about a new business that I created that couldn’t be more opposite to that headline.”
Robert Downey Jr on Channel 4 News
Robert Downey Jr made an early exit from an interview with Channel 4 News in 2015, when he took issue with Krishnan Guru-Murthy asking him about his past struggles with addiction.
The Iron Man star later branded Krishnan a “syphilitic parasite”, stating: “I’m one of those guys who I’m always assuming the social, kind of decorum is in play and that we’re promoting a superhero movie.
“A lot of kids are going to see it, and this has nothing to do with your creepy dark agenda that I’m feeling all of a sudden like, ashamed and obligated to accommodate your weirdo shit.”
Naomi Campbell on ABC News
Naomi Campbell walked out of a 2010 interview with ABC News when they attempted to ask her about a blood diamond she’d allegedly received from former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor, who was standing trial for war crimes at the time.
“I didn’t receive a diamond and I’m not going to speak about that,” she replied.
As the interviewer continued to press Naomi on the matter, she got up and walked away, knocking over a camera on her way.
Later that year, Naomi admitted that she was given the diamond as she gave evidence at the former Liberian ruler’s trial.
Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain
Perhaps the most infamous TV walk-out ever saw Piers Morgan storm off the set of Good Morning Britain in 2021 after weather presenter Alex Beresford called him out over comments he’d made about Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey on the previous day’s show.
Alex said: “And I understand that you’ve got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle and she cut you off, she’s entitled to cut you off, if she wants to. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has. But yet you continue to trash her.”
At that point, Piers got up and left the studio. However, it would ultimately prove to be his last appearance on the programme, as later that day it was announced he would be leaving with immediate effect following the furore over his comments about the Duchess.
Piers later admitted he regretted walking off set, but stood firm on his views on Meghan, even under intense media scrutiny and a record number of Ofcom complaints.
Good Morning Britain was later cleared by the TV watchdog over the comments Piers had made the day prior to walking off set.
Joe Lycett on Steph’s Packed Lunch
Joe Lycett made headlines in 2021 when he appeared to storm off the set of Channel 4’s daytime show Steph’s Packed Lunch, after being asked a question about his use of non-recyclable plastic.
The moment was pretty awkward, and he did not return for a later segment in the show he was supposed to take part in.
However, all was not actually as it seemed, as Joe later revealed the scene was actually a pre-rehearsed stunt, planned with host Steph McGovern to draw attention to the fact white PET plastic bottles are not recyclable.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.
