Nigel Farage's fiery Question Time clash with Piers Morgan continued into a war of words online after Fiona Bruce was last night forced to step in to stop an ugly row between the pair.
Both Farage and Morgan were appearing on the panel show on Thursday night ahead of the July 4 general election.
But the war of words spilled over onto social media after Bruce was forced to intervene to stop the two men shouting at each other when Farage was asked why he wasn't standing in the election.
Sharing a clip of the show online, Reform UK's Farage wrote on X: 'It must be nice for Piers Morgan to be on TV for once.'
Morgan responded: 'Hope you're OK. Can't have been an easy night for you given the audience silence every time you spoke.'
Piers Morgan appeared on Question Time on Thursday and accused Nigel Farage of 'bottling' not standing for election
Farage criticised Morgan's media career during the BBC One show in Epsom this evening
He later shared a photo of all of the show's panellists except Mr Farage, writing: 'All smiles after last night's lively BBC Question Time - mainly because The Toad had already left.'
The two came to verbal blows after the former Ukip leader was asked by a member of the audience why he wasn't standing, despite being a key member of the Reform UK Party campaign as the honorary president.
Earlier this week, Farage said Rishi Sunak's decision to go to the polls much earlier than most had expected was the reason why he was not standing as a candidate.
But before the 60-year-old had a chance to answer, Morgan shouted at him: 'You bottled it mate.'
Barking back at the presenter, Farage criticised his counterpart's media career and said: 'Piers you have never stood in your life. You are not even a TV presenter.'
The pair then began to shout over each other before they were forcefully stopped by Bruce, who was chairing the show from Epsom in front of a live audience.
But the two controversial figures continued to squabble, with Morgan asking: 'You have had all year to think about this election. We all knew it was coming. This idea that you didn't have enough time to prepare is rubbish.'
Farage fought back and took aim at Morgan's TV career, after the star presenter had announced earlier this year that he was leaving his daily show on TalkTV, saying: 'I still have a nightly TV show. Yours has been shut down. But mine is still going.'
The pair then began to shout over each other before they were forcefully stopped by presenter Fiona Bruce
Morgan and Farage were joined on the Question Time panel by Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting (centre left), Conservative MP Damian Hinds (centre right)and the Bishop of Dover Hudson-Wilkin (second right) to discuss a number of key political issues
He called Morgan a 'YouTuber', referring to his show Piers Morgan Uncensored transferring to YouTube from TalkTV.
Morgan and Farage were joined on the Question Time panel by Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Conservative MP Damian Hinds and the Bishop of Dover Hudson-Wilkin.
Farage returned to Question Time for the first time since 2019 and his appearance comes after he hinted he's open to a general election deal with the Tories as Sunak faces a wipeout on July 4.
The ex-UKIP leader suggested he and the Conservatives 'might have a conversation' ahead of polling day.
Farage pointed to 'huge favours' he had done for the Tories in the past and demanded the Prime Minister 'give me something back'.
But he denied he was angling for a peerage and a seat in the House of Lords, revealing he had 'turned all that rubbish down in the past'.
There are widespread fears among Conservative MPs that Reform's pledge to stand in nearly every parliamentary constituency will deliver a massive boost to Labour.
Richard Tice, the leader of Reform, has previously ruled out agreeing a deal with the Conservatives ahead of this year's general election.
Earlier this week, Farage explained on the The Sun's Never Mind The Ballots show as to why he chose not to stand as a Reform candidate, blaming the Prime Minister's decision to go to the polls much earlier than most had expected.
He said: 'I had a plan, actually. I'll let you in on a secret. I was going to launch tomorrow - I had a venue booked, I had it all ready to go.
Richard Tice (left), leader of the Reform Party previously ruled out a deal with the Conservatives
The Conservatives fear Reform UK will help splinter their vote, leading to a bigger win for Labour
'But the problem is, you can't win in a constituency - or it's very difficult to win - without data.
'It's even harder to win when you're Nigel Farage, because the other side will cheat.
'There'll be third party outside influencers, and I needed a really good run at this. And six weeks wasn't enough.
'I thought, well, rather than being stuck for six weeks in a constituency, why not travel around the country.
'Not just supporting Reform candidates, but try and get a proper debate going.'
It comes as the Tories suffered another blow last night with the defection of former MP Mark Logan to Labour.
Speaking on Friday morning, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride told Sky News: 'It's disappointing, Mark will have his own reasons as to why he's decided to do that.'
He added: 'I'm disappointed, and of course we're disappointed when those things happen, but the big picture here, and there's a lot at stake here - over and above what Mark Logan may or may not decide to have done - is the future of our country.'
Asked if his party is simply reducing taxes it raised previously, Mr Stride said these are 'real tax cuts', adding: 'All taxes move around in different ways over many years, that's a simple statement of fact, but the reality is you start from where you are, and you have to decide where you're going to go to and where we're going to is lower taxes.'
Mr Stride also claimed that Labour will be 'dragging millions of pensioners into paying income tax'.
Sir Keir Starmer this morning refused to comment on whether Diane Abbott should stand as an MP, saying it was a matter for the selection board
Labour is embroiled in a row over whether Ms Abbott (centre) should stand following her suspension from the party
Labour meanwhile is embroiled in a row over whether MP Diane Abbott can stand for the party in the upcoming election.
She had been suspended from the party until this week following comments she made about anti-Semitism in a letter to The Observer last year.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer refused to say this morning if he would like Diane Abbott to stand for the party at the next election.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland during a visit north of the border, Sir Keir said the decision on Ms Abbott standing for Labour would be made by the party's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC).
'Diane Abbott has had the whip returned to her, no decision has been taken to bar her from standing and the NEC will come to a decision in due course,' he said.
Asked if he would like her to be a candidate, Sir Keir added: 'Ultimately, that will be a matter for the NEC but no decision has been taken.'
He also praised the MP - the first black woman to be elected to the Commons - as a 'trailblazer'.