Piers Morgan leads Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? line-up for celebrity specials

The former tabloid newspaper editor will appear in the same episode as Diversity dancer Jordan Banjo, while the other charity special will feature Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith, comedian Ronni Ancona, and Coronation Street star Kym Marsh.

The celebrities will face the same challenging format as any other post-coronavirus Millionaire episode, tackling 15 general knowledge questions on their path to winning one million pounds for charity.

Among the lifelines are 50:50, Ask Jeremy and two Phone-A-Friend options, the latter of which replaces Ask The Audience, which is absent due to social distancing guidelines.

Clarkson said: "We have a great line-up of celebrities for these two special episodes. Even I’d heard of most of them. There was Prue Leith who was warm and wonderful and great fun, and Piers Morgan who was… also on the show.

"Without giving too much away, there was some skilful game play, some wild stabs in the dark and some moments of toe-curling embarrassment. So why not grab a mince pie, put your feet up and tune in!"

Morgan confirmed the news of his involvement on Twitter, acknowledging in an accompanying Daily Mail column his "now healed" feud with Clarkson.

https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/1335495712310751240

"I still have a scar on my right temple, nestling right outside the sensible part of my cerebral cortex, from where Clarkson punched me at the height of our now healed 10-year feud," he writes.

Nevertheless, Morgan credits the "risk-taking" part of his brain for agreeing to take part in the show, as well as a desire to raise money for Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a charity that supports children and young people who have lost parents serving in the British Armed Forces.

He also revealed that his two Phone-A-Friend choices are his Good Morning Britain co-presenter Susanna Reid and television personality Judge Rob Rinder, but stopped short of saying exactly how close he got to the jackpot prize.

The US version of the popular quiz show recently celebrated its first celebrity millionaire winner, with chef and TV personality David Chang secured the incredible sum. But no pressure, of course.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Celebrity Specials air Boxing Day, 26th December at 9:30pm and the 27th December at 9:15pm on ITV. While you're waiting, check out our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.