Brit takes up Larry King's mantle, interviews queen of daytime TV

Jan 18, 2011, 12:21 GMT

   New York - British journalist and television presenter Piers Morgan stepped into the shoes of veteran talk-show host Larry King on Monday, welcoming Oprah Winfrey to his inaugural show.

   The former tabloid editor, who gained early notoriety for his brash and intrusive style, was polite and flattering as he coaxed details of her life story from his high-profile guest.

   'Everything you touch is a hit,' he told her, 'Could you just touch me?' he asked on his first night replacing a show that regularly attracted over 1 million viewers.

   Winfrey, a talkshow host of almost regal stature in her own right, opened the interview by declaring there were some things she was not prepared to discuss.

   In Morgan's previous incarnations, the comment would have been a red flag to a bull, but on Monday he simply raised his hands in apparent agreement.

   The 56-year-old Oprah, as she is known, said it was a 'miracle' to have achieved what she had after being born 'Negro me, a former coloured girl from Mississippi,' when it was an apartheid state.

   Her own highly successful show launched in 1986. She also has several businesses, and earns an estimated 250 million dollars a year.

   Morgan, 45, edited the British tabloids News of the World and Daily Mirror before moving into television presenting, finding fame in the United States as a panelist on America's Got Talent in 2006.

   The Piers Morgan Tonight show took over the prime-time slot that was filled by Larry King Live from 1985 until its host retired in December.

   The new show's next scheduled guest was radio presenter Howard Stern.