'Piers Morgan made my celeb son's life hell so I chucked a pint over his head'

Chesney Hawkes rose to fame when he was a teenager. In a new interview

Chesney Hawkes ' father once threw a pint of beer over Piers Morgan for his harsh criticism of the then-teen singer.

The singer, now 53, rose to fame when he was still a teenager. He was only 19 when he appeared as the title characer in the film, Buddy's Song. In 1991, his single from the soundtrack, The One and Only, became a huge hit. He also had hits such as I'm a Man Not a Boy and Secrets of the Heart.

Being in the spotlight at a young age made him an easy target for criticism from the likes of This Morning's Phillip Schofield and former Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan. At the time, he topped the charts for five weeks at the height of the 90s grunge era.

Decades later, Chesney hasn't forgotten about the intense criticism he was subjected to from Phillip and Piers. He said it's vital for critics to learn how their actions could affect child stars later on in life. Speaking to the Mirror, he said: "How does this happen? They were all old enough to know better.

"I think those moments, they were really difficult. I kind of had to push it down and tighten the lid on it and had to think it was just water off a duck's back. I just thought I would write a few songs and carry on but it is not until later on that I thought it was proper sh*t and it is not acceptable to do that."

He went on to reminisce about the time his dad stepped in to stand up for him, going as far as pouring a drink over Piers. Chesney explained: ""It is not responsible and it keeps happening. Piers Morgan also had a go at me during that time but my dad once poured a pint of lager over him at the Ivor Novello awards in London in 1992."

Chesney also called disgraced presenter Phillip a 'b*stard' as he recalled the hell he went through as a teenager in the industry. He said: "Phillip Schofield...B*stard. I remember he once did a (jokey) sketch at [these] awards in 1991 where he pushed me into Hell with a pitchfork. I remember that moment as I was only a kid, I was 19."

The awards do in question was the 1991 Smash Hits' Poll Winners' Party. He added: "At first, Phillip was one of the first people who was very nice to me," recalls Chesney. "We did all the TV shows like Live and Kicking in those days and the Radio 1 roadshows. And suddenly they turned against me. I remember it well. I watched [the show] that year with my parents at home and they did this horrible thing where Phillip pushed me to the gates of Hell with a pitchfork. They had this guy dressed as me in a blonde wig with a mole. It was awful."

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