Patsy Palmer has said she no longer wishes to discuss her “old self” when she has brief air time after she shut down her Good Morning Britain interview after being offended by her billing as “addict to wellness guru”.
The former EastEnders actress, 48, sat down for the virtual interview, from her home in Malibu, California, cradling her dog on her lap.
But when she read the strapline she told hosts Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard she would be doing “a Piers Morgan”.
Reid began the interview by asking Palmer about living in the US, saying: “I wonder if you do get more privacy over there?”
The star replied: “Yeah, I think you do,” before saying: “You know what, actually, I don’t even want to do this interview because I don’t even want to look at what it says at the bottom of that screen.
“So, I’m just going to switch off and do a real Piers Morgan and just say, ‘It’s not OK to have ‘from addict to wellness guru’ on the bottom of the screen.”
The addiction issues “were talked about by me many, many years ago and it’s over”, she said before shutting her laptop.
She later wrote on Instagram: “My apologies to anyone that wants to hear good news as I have great faith that considering what is going on in the world right now there are still some people that do.
“I keep seeing people saying ‘get over yourself.’
“I have gotten over my old self years ago and no longer wish to discuss it when I only have 5 minutes air time.
“I have been a people pleaser my whole life. I’m not a journalist so I don’t want to report on other people’s lives on TV. I never have and never will, let’s leave that up to the journalists.”
Palmer said she did not want to waste her brief screen time on “things that are 20 years old”, or about Meghan and Harry.
She added: “I’ve worked hard on myself to remove negativity from my life and the lives of my children so if anyone has a problem with that you need to go at take a look at your lives and wonder what drives you to jump on here to attack me for standing my ground.
“If you are parents doing that then shame on you. I hope you find some joy amidst all the madness.”
The TV hosts apologised to Palmer, who took part in ITV show The Masked Singer, with Shephard saying: “I’m so sorry about that Patsy, huge apologies.
“It wasn’t our intention to upset you.”
Reid added: “I had no idea that was on the screen.
“Well that’s a terrible shame.
“Our apologies to Patsy. She’s entitled not to do the interview and we carry on.”
Shephard told viewers later: “Our intention was never to upset Patsy Palmer.
“We were very keen to talk to her… She has talked in the past, in her book, particularly about her addiction, her stint in rehab … and now she has a wellness brand.
“It was the journey she has been on… that’s what we mistakenly misread.
“We do apologise to Patsy and clearly she was very upset by that and that is certainly not how we like to do things.”
And Reid said: “It’s everybody’s right not to be on this programme if they don’t want to be, as we know.”
Palmer later wrote on her Instagram story: “I haven’t written a book in 20 years so don’t believe that either.
“Guess what people!!!!! People change and grow and live happy health lives, so stop trying to make people small and worthless. Finish it now.
“Thank you for all of your kind words. Hopefully you will all start living your best lives from now on not from then now.
“Move on we are supposed to change!!!!!! It’s a human condition. Can’t you see how controlled we all are!”
Morgan walked off the set of Good Morning Britain earlier this month after a heated discussion with weather presenter Alex Beresford over the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
He later left his position as co-host of the ITV show, after saying he did not believe the duchess’s remarks in her interview with Oprah Winfrey.