Piers Morgan relentlessly mocks Susanna Reid on first Good Morning Britain appearance

The former Mirror editor didn't hold back on his daytime debut

Ed Balls got it pretty bad.

The gaffe-prone Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer was Piers Morgan’s first daytime TV victim. He patched in from Manchester to discuss the Labour manifesto on strengthening the British economy. Morgan referred to him as “Darth Vader”. “You are allowed to laugh,” he said. “You can show us a little bit of human Ed Balls.”

But Balls’ Morgan experience was nothing compared to that of his co-star Susanna Reid, who faced an endless stream of mocking banter from the get go as the former Mirror editor made his Good Morning Britain debut.

Here are some of the worst things he said:

1) He started his appearance by telling Reid she “looked like a giant, glowing daffodil” in her yellow dress.

2) He made a series of patronising gags about the earth moving as he spoke of news of an earthquake in Los Angeles with US correspondent Ross King. “I know what an earthquake is…” Reid shot back.

3) Reid recalled Zac Efron’s now famous chest exposure during the MTV Movie Awards. “Wrong age bracket for me,” the 44-year-old said of the 27-year-old actor’s antics. “That’s not what I’ve heard,” Morgan quipped back.

4) He read out a tweet suggesting that Reid had been flirting with him the entire time, a la the tabloid play around her interviews with David Cameron and David Beckham.

“I hadn’t noticed because I’ve been focusing on my job,” Morgan replied, “but if you have noticed feel free to continue.”

5) Joking about Reid sabotaging his ad break with a slice of apple, which he was still eating in shot moments later, he said: “She gave me a bit of apple deliberately so I would have my mouth full, so I would like to apologise to viewers because she stitched me up like a kipper…rendering me an incoherent gibbering wreck.” “It’s not the apple’s fault,” she quipped back.

6) He laughed, sat back and left Reid to apologise to viewers after guest Alain Robert swore live on air. He later demanded they “get the French guy” back on.

7) Morgan signed off his debut by saying he would be returning to the show tomorrow, “which is a huge thrill for Susanna”.

Even more of a thrill for her… He’ll be here all week.