Piers Morgan apologises to Ofcom after his fans bombard the TV watchdog over 2,000 complaints

PIERS Morgan has apologised to Ofcom for asking his army of fans to contact the TV watchdog to support his "grilling" of MPs after he was hit with more than 2,000 complaints.

The 55-year-old Good Morning Britain host came under fire after an explosive row with care minister Helen Whately on the show last week.

He ripped into her as she tried to defend why so few people in care homes had been tested amid reports thousands of patients have already died.

But some viewers complained Piers was “bullying” her, while others insisted the presenter was doing his job and holding the minister “to account”.

Piers later tweeted: "Apparently nearly 2000 people have now complained to @Ofcom about me grilling Care minister Helen Whateley too 'unfairly' when she couldn't answer even basic questions.

"If you think I should continue grilling ministers in the way I've been doing, please tell @OFCOM. Thanks."

But the watchdog struggled to cope with being bombarded, issuing a rare public plea to Piers to make the messages and calls stop.

They wrote: "Dear Piers, We’re usually happy with you keeping us busy. But right now we’re struggling to keep up after you asked your followers to contact us.

"This means we may fail to help the people that need us most – such as the vulnerable or elderly.

"So could you please help us out and go easy on the mentions? Any help appreciated."

He replied: "My apologies... I underestimated the scale of public support."

Despite their previous interview, care minister Helen Whately returned to Good Morning Britain for another round with Piers.

However, that also picked up huge numbers of complaints with 966 viewers objecting - and the host insisting: "I was even 'meaner' today."

Together, complaints about Piers' two interviews stand at nearly 3,000.