Top 20 Biggest Arguments in British TV History

#20: The Fish and Anchor

“Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares” (2004-14)

Who can forget Mike and Caron? While nearly every episode of “Kitchen Nightmares” features Gordon coming to blows with the owners, in this one, the owners were constantly at each other’s throats, too, and Gordon was often stuck spectating. Their rows were legendary, with locals being well aware of the venue’s reputation. At one point a furious customer goes into the kitchen and announces that he and his family are leaving after waiting hours for their food, prompting fury from Caron, who goes after him. Mike then chucks out another disgruntled customer after he argues with Caron. She, of course, rows with Gordon, too, in one of the most intense episodes of the entire series.

#19: Secret Couple

“The Traitors” (2022-)

In truly bizarre scenes, contestants Tom and Alex started feeling the heat and decided they needed to come clean: they were actually a couple, and had been the entire time they’d been on the show. Upon learning that Alex, along with two others, had been put on trial as the potential next murder victim, Tom spoke up and revealed that she was his girlfriend. If you haven’t seen “The Traitors”, you’re probably wondering why this was such a huge deal, but they take deception very seriously up there, and a huge argument ensued. Tom started accusing everybody else in the room of being a traitor and getting it wrong every time.

#18: Lady C

“I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!” (2002-)

It’s impossible to pick just one Lady C moment, because there were so many; her entire stint on “I’m a Celeb” was one enormous argument at the end of the day. But particularly notable were her rows with beloved TV personality Yvette Fielding. It takes a lot to make an ex-“Blue Peter” presenter lose their rag, but Lady C managed it with frightening ease. Though Lady C insisted that she was only arguing with people who deserved it, this clearly wasn’t true. But attempts to get her to stop arguing only led to more discord, since she wouldn’t listen to anybody trying to intervene and stop her from belittling her fellow campmates.

#17: Adam & Debs

“Blind Date” (1985-2003; 2017-19)

They must have liked each other a bit to go on the date at all, but it didn’t last long, because Adam was absolute scum. He was extremely arrogant, spent their romantic getaway trying to pull other girls, and was convinced that Debs was in love with him and also not worth his time. The audience was clearly on Debs’ side, as was the one and only Cilla Black, who came to Debs’ defence. They kept arguing in the studio, with Debs insulting him just as much as he insulted her. He tried to get the audience to support him, only to get booed. What’s Adam doing now? We have no idea, but he’s probably not living it up with American supermodels in Saint Kitts.

#16: Andrew Neil & Ben Shapiro

BBC News

What’s the difference between an interview and a debate? Don’t ask Ben Shapiro, because he clearly has no idea. He turned up on BBC News to be interviewed by veteran broadcaster Andrew Neil, known for his ruthless political commentary – and, crucially, for being right-wing. Shapiro didn’t seem to realise that he was being interviewed and not debated, accusing Andrew Neil of not being an “objective journalist”, even though Neil was just doing his job of asking his subjects difficult questions. Shapiro then accused Neil of being a leftist, which Neil treated with the seriousness it deserved. Finally, Shapiro stormed out and ended the segment early.

#15: Ziggy vs Everyone

“Four in a Bed” (2010-)

Self-styled “Mr Nasty” Ziggy had a lot to answer for on payment day, when the other B&B owners realised that he’d dramatically underpaid. This was despite giving good feedback on the forms. He was extremely smug when he said he’d underpaid because of the curtains being iffy and the mini-fridge making noise, clearly playing to win by letting his wife compliment everybody and then knocking off cash from the final bill. To add insult to injury, their B&B was rubbish, so their game-playing didn’t even work. Eden Lodge was NOT the best value B&B, and they didn’t get the coveted “Four in a Bed” plaque.

#14: Megan & Alexis

“Married at First Sight” (2015-)

The drama was high in this series of “Married at First Sight”, with two relationships ruined early on: Megan cheated on Bob and Jordan cheated on Alexis when they shared a cheeky kiss. Though Megan and Jordan seemed to think they hadn’t really done anything wrong, with Megan even claiming that Alexis had encouraged her, arguments raged when Jordan confessed. Bob broke down in tears, while Jordan admitted that he’d decided to stay in the show that week because he wanted the chance to try it on again with Megan. Megan apologised, but still shifted the blame onto Alexis.

#13: Kim Woodburn & Coleen Nolan

“Loose Women” (1999-)

Following her legendary “Celebrity Big Brother” appearance, the late Kim Woodburn kept making the rounds on talkshows, including having a go at Phillip Schofield on “This Morning” after he confronted her about her behaviour. But she was eventually persuaded to turn up on “Loose Women”, too, for a final showdown with her nemesis, Coleen Nolan. Though it was ostensibly to settle their differences, the panel ganged up on Woodburn, eventually driving her to tears. She stormed off the show and there were thousands of Ofcom complaints for how “Loose Women” approached the item – not to mention Coleen’s behaviour.

#12: Chloe Ferry

“Geordie Shore” (2011-)

You don’t really watch “Geordie Shore” for reasonable discussions and calm debates, you come to it for drunken hedonism, and that was what this iconic outburst delivered on. While settling in for chips after a boozy night out, Abbie and Chloe came to blows when Abbie wanted to know why Chloe had kissed Sam. Chloe blew up, becoming violent despite Nathan’s attempts to calm things down. Sam himself, also enjoying their chip supper, just stood by and watched as Chloe flipped a glass table and broke it to pieces. She then stormed upstairs and almost kicked a door down. It’s one of the angriest TV moments in history, that’s for certain.

#11: Millie Mackintosh & Spencer Matthews

“Made in Chelsea” (2011-)

In these legendary scenes, the girls all ganged up on Spencer and started accusing him of cheating on Louise Thompson. It turned out that he definitely had been cheating on her, and later made history of his own by dumping her in the most brutal way possible. But back to his altercation with Millie, he pretended to be oblivious while they ganged up on him. This frustrated Millie to no end, who clearly thought that he’d come clean after a public confrontation. He didn’t and she slapped him, in one of the show’s most memorable moments. Louise has definitely been better off after she and Spencer finally ended things.

#10: Dennis Skinner & David Cameron

“House of Commons”

The House of Commons can be a rowdy place at the best of times, and Labour MP Dennis Skinner was notorious for speaking his mind - even if that meant getting suspended. In 2016, he accused Prime Minister David Cameron of hiding his shadowy personal finances, calling him "Dodgy Dave". When speaker John Bercow called for order and asked him to take back his comment, he declined. Other MPs weren't the only ones to find this hilarious. Skinner, who was suspended ten times over his career, not only called the Prime Minister dodgy to his face, but he refused to take it back. That's the kind of blunt honesty that people love - and we’re not used to hearing it from politicians nowadays.

#9: Malia & Kady

“Love Island” (2015-)

Love Island has seen its fair share of drama, but Malia was probably the fastest contestant to ever cause an uproar. After coming into the villa in 2016 and going on a date with Scott, she had an awkward introduction to the girl he was coupled up with, Kady, who knocked her drink onto Malia, supposedly by accident. The new girl wasn't having it, and the pair immediately started shouting and shoving each other. "I think we both overreacted to be honest," Kady admitted afterwards. Out of all the Love Island fights, this was memorable for coming out of absolutely nowhere. Malia may have only lasted a few hours on Love Island, but she certainly left her mark.

#8: Piers Morgan & Diggory Hadoke

“Good Morning Britain” (2014-)

Piers Morgan has been at the centre of countless fights on British television over the years, whether people have been arguing with him or about him. His most furious argument, however, may have been with the big game hunter Diggory Hadoke, who came on Good Morning Britain to advocate the hunting of large animals for sport. As a nation of animal lovers, we usually don't warm to hunters. So it naturally became a heated exchange, as Piers called the practice "repulsive," and Diggory accused him of tabloid sensationalism. Hunting is an emotional subject for a lot of people, and this argument caused enough controversy that Diggory was invited back multiple times.

#7: AbLisa

“The X Factor” (2004-18)

X Factor has given us countless iconic auditions over the years - ranging from the shockingly talented to the memorably awful. Abbey and Lisa stood out from the crowd for being unusually aggressive, as the pair tried to fight the audience, judge Natalie Imbruglia, and each other. Like a lot of early auditions, you can't help but laugh even as you cringe. After insulting the judges and demonstrating some wobbly vocals, Lisa told the audience to stop booing and Abbey hit her friend in the face before leaving. Ablisa may not have made it to bootcamp, but they made sure the nation remembered them with a fight that went down in X Factor history.

#6: Huey Morgan Smashes a Mug

“Never Mind The Buzzcocks” (1996-2015)

Never Mind The Buzzcocks always had a reputation for anarchy, and a history of inviting musicians onto the show only to ridicule them. One of the most memorable examples may be Fun Lovin' Criminals frontman, Huey Morgan. During a round where the team had to finish the lyrics given by guest hosts Rizzle Kicks, Morgan smashed a mug out of frustration. The episode immediately became a landmark of second hand embarrassment, as team captain Phil Jupiter refused to make eye contact with Morgan and Rizzle Kicks tried to banter their way out of the situation. The melt-down was as funny as it was uncomfortable, and showed viewers everywhere why you shouldn’t annoy Huey Morgan while he’s holding a cuppa.

#5: Peter & Jane

“Come Dine With Me” (2005-)

Peter Marsh couldn’t have known he was creating an iconic moment in British culture when he unleashed a Shakespearean monologue on his fellow Come Dine With Me contestant Jane. After a week of competing to give the best dinner party, he announced her win by musing "What a sad little life, Jane," dishing out some deadly insults, and demanding that she get off the property. Peter’s frustration led to one of the most hilariously harsh moments in the history of Come Dine With Me, inspiring countless memes and recreations. It’s a great TV fight not just because he’s so eloquent, but also because at the end of the day, they’re arguing over appetisers.

#4: Katie Hopkins & Phillip Schofield

“This Morning” (1988-)

Katie Hopkins is definitely one of the UK’s most controversial figures. One particular viral moment saw her completely humiliated when she appeared on This Morning to defend her harsh opinions on children’s names. Hopkins criticised working class parents for using geographical locations, making fun of names like “Brooklyn.” Phillip Schofield interrupted to point out that her child’s name is India. Hopkins tried to continue speaking but Holly Willoughby was in hysterics, and the rest of the nation reacted the same way. There’s nothing as satisfying as seeing a hypocrite be exposed on live TV, and nobody could take Katie’s snobbish views seriously after they had seen that clip.

#3: Robert Downey Junior & Krishnan Guru-Murthy

“Channel 4 News” (1984-)

Channel 4 presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy has a reputation for winding up Americans. His interview with Quentin Tarantino in 2013 infamously led to the director threatening “I’m shutting your butt down." One moment that sparked a lot of conversation came from Guru-Murthy interviewing Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Junior. After the presenter pushed Downey Junior to talk about the more scandalous parts of his history, including his father and the drug problem that led to his arrest, the actor walked out, calling Guru-Murthy a “schmuck.” Some people thought the presenter had gone too far by bringing up those topics. On the other hand, some argued that the American actor was too sensitive. Whichever side you land on, you have to agree that it made great TV.

#2: Gemma Collins & Bobby Cole Norris

“The Only Way Is Essex” (2010-)

No list of TV arguments would be complete without TOWIE. The reality show made Essex notorious for drama, love triangles, and fake tan. And Gemma Collins, or "The GC" as her fans call her, is the undisputed queen of reality TV fights. Gemma fell out with best friend Bobby in 2015 after a fight where he accused her of "throwing him under the bus" with another TOWIE castmate. Gemma then threw a drink in Bobby’s face as he was held back by producers. Fans were astonished that the pair turned on each other - but they made up eventually, of course. Luckily, Gemma and Bobby are just as entertaining having a few drinks together as they are throwing them at each other.

#1: Grace Jones & Russell Harty

“The Russell Harty Show” (1974-82)

For our number one pick, we’re taking it back to the Eighties and remembering a classic scrap between singer Grace Jones and TV host Russell Harty. In 1982, Jones appeared on Harty’s chat show and slapped him live on air. The legendary singer later explained in her autobiography that she was tired and felt Harty was ignoring her, saying “I was all dressed up like an Amazonian seductress, and treated like the hired help. I thought, this is no way to treat a guest.” When the nation saw the shocking fight, ratings soared, and the show even tried to get her back on air for a “rematch." Jones declined, calling the offer “tacky.” But we still have this iconic moment of British TV, where Jones made it clear that she wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself.

Let us know in the comments which iconic telly arguments we missed!