Guest called 'worst on Good Morning Britain ever' after row with Piers Morgan over banned topless male Tube advert

Jacob Jarvis21 December 2018

A guest was branded Good Morning Britain's "worst ever" by Piers Morgan after switching sides in an argument.

The row started over a banned Tube advert which depicted a 58-year-old man with his shirt off.

The Lumen dating app campaign showed Paul Orchard, wearing just braces, holding a phone with the tagline: “Pull a cracker this Christmas.”This showed a 58-year-old, Paul Orchard, wearing braces but no shirt and was captioned: “Pull a cracker this Christmas.”

It was banned from appearing across the London Underground network amid claims it "sexually objectified him".

Podcaster and freelance journalist Richard Holt, 45, began by siding with Mr Morgan's in defending the poster and stating that "all men like to be objectified".

But the pair clashed while debating with Harriet Minter, a talkRADIO presenter who agreed with the poster being banned.

As Mr Morgan spoke, Mr Holt said: “You’re shouting so much I now want to join Harriet’s side.

"I object to the fact this man took his top off I now find it a little bit offensive."

Mr Morgan's co-host Susanna Reid said: “I'm not sure what you think.”

Mr Morgan said: “I don’t think you are the best guest we could have booked for this. I have no idea what are you doing.

"You're abusing everybody including the guests and the hosts."

At the end he said: "Bye mate nice to have you on."

After the interview, Mr Morgan said: "He was literally the worst guest we've ever booked. Ever. In the history of Good Morning Britain."

Piers Morgan questioned why the poster was a problem 
PA

He called Mr Holt "obnoxious", an “annoying little twerp” and said he would "never darken these doors again", in regards to a possible future appearance.

The section got off to a rocky start, when Ms Reid asked Mr Holt his age.

Before this spat, Mr Holt commented on the barred ad and said: “I really don’t see what we have a problem with, to be honest.

“The reason we’re talking about it is because he looks great.

“He’s knocking on 60 year’s old. We’re talking about objectifying him, most men love being objectified, as Piers says, at any age.”

But Ms Minter said she wondered: “How many men are looking at that advert and thinking. ‘Am I too skinny? Do I need to tone up?'’”

She said we should celebrate a “diverse” range of people.

“Let’s have a diverse range of bodies,” Ms Minter said.

She then championed the app which was advertised for targeting an audience over 50, a point which host Ms Reid said was “lost” due to the argument.

Mr Morgan also shared his views that both female and male bodies should be able to be seen.

He said people should “stop whining about the female supposed objectification, most of which is not objectification.

The ad in question was pulled and told to have a “less suggestive” tagline and it has since been swapped for a version with the model in a suit.

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