Former Mirror editor Piers Morgan won the live US final of The Celebrity Apprentice, raising a quarter of a million pounds more than the rest of the contestants combined. Morgan was frequently described as ruthless, vicious and evil as he fought off the other 13 celebrities. In a battle that was billed as 'good versus evil, America versus Britain' by host Donald Trump, Morgan won the show's prize of 250,000 dollars (£125,000) for charity in the final task, a celebrity auction and party. The 42-year-old was helped by multi-millionaire X Factor judge Simon Cowell, who bought a shopping trip with Trump's tall blond daughter Ivanka for 100,000 dollars, and the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, who offered afternoon tea with her as an auction prize. Morgan, best known in the US as the mean judge on America's Got Talent, was booed by the studio audience as he came on stage to take on mild-mannered country singer Trace Adkins, whom he described as a '6ft 7in cowboy', in the live final on US TV network NBC. As he announced the winner, Trump told Morgan: "You're a vicious guy, I've seen it. You can try and dispute it. You're tough, you're smart, you're probably brilliant, I'm not sure. You're certainly not diplomatic. "But you did an amazing job and you beat the hell out of everybody. And you won by far more than anybody."
