Robbie Coltrane once threatened to beat up ‘f*ing w**r’ Piers Morgan in a London restaurant

Charlie Herbert

The pair had never met before apparently

Robbie Coltrane once called Piers Morgan a “f****** w*****” and threatened to “do” him after an encounter in a London restaurant.

On Friday, Coltrane’s agent Belinda Wright confirmed his passing, saying that he had died in hospital near his home in Larbert, Scotland.

Many from across the world of television and film also paid tribute to the late actor, who was also known for his roles in Cracker and the James Bond films GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough.

Stephen Fry said he was in “awe/terror/lovestruck all at the same time” after meeting Coltrane who had such “depth, power and talent” and was funny enough to “cause helpless hiccups and honking”.

Meanwhile Hugh Laurie said: “I used to ride with Robbie Coltrane between Manchester and London in his sort-of-restored MGA.

“I’d roll him cigarettes while he discoursed on the ways of the world, and I don’t think I’ve ever laughed or learned so much in my life.”

Since his passing, fans have been sharing an emotional clip of Coltrane discussing the legacy his role as Hagrid will leave, and how the character will outlive him.

[P] RIP to Robbie Coltrane. He was a wonderful character actor of many accomplishments, the greatest of which was his threatening to beat up Piers Morgan at the Ivy restaurant back in 2008.

— Paul and Storm (@paulandstorm) October 14, 2022

But not everyone had such fond experiences of their encounters with actor.

Writing in his memoir, Piers Morgan recalled one occasion when the Scot threatened to hit him in a London restaurant.

Morgan wrote: “Now this fact sometimes surprises me: I’ve been punched by only one celebrity, ever. Despite 20 years of taunting, exposing and mocking famous people, only Jeremy Clarkson has ever actually landed one on me.

“But at 11.31pm tonight, I was fairly sure I was going to receive my second celebrity fist in the kisser, when Robbie Coltrane stood up in the middle of The Ivy restaurant in London, stared into my eyes with the kind of evil intent that puts Joe Calzaghe to shame and informed me: ‘I’ll f****** do yer, yer f****** w*****.’

“Quite how things got to this stage remains a mystery, as I have never met Mr Coltrane before in my life, and to the best of my memory have never had any run-ins with him on any of the newspapers I have worked on.”

To be fair, the mere sight of Piers Morgan would probably get a similar reaction from many others.

Morgan went on to say that he was a fan of Coltrane’s work, and labelled Cracker a “brilliant series.”

A line from the Robbie Coltrane obituary in today's Times:

"(He) once turned heads at the Ivy restaurant when he shouted at Piers Morgan: "Don't you f***ing dare come near me if you know what's good for you, you c***!"

— Chris McCall (@Dennynews) October 15, 2022

He continued: “But I feared this admiration society might not be entirely mutual when I was led towards my table and Mr Coltrane, sitting two feet away, greeted my arrival with the words: ‘OH F****** HELL! NOT THAT F****** W*****!’ I turned to see who he was talking about, and then realised his drooping, inflamed eyes were looking at me.”

Despite this, Morgan tried to introduce himself, but was met with a response of: ‘Don’t you f****** come near me,’ he responded, his face contorted into blind, eye-popping fury.

Morgan described Coltrane’s face as “contorted into blind, eye-popping fury, and replied: “‘I’m sorry?'”

Coltrane continued: “‘I said don’t you f****** come near me if you know what’s good for you.’

‘What’s your problem?’ ‘You’re my f****** problem.’ ‘Why?’ ‘F*** off’.”

Robbie Coltrane – what a hero.

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