Merton puts the boot into Deayton

Paul Merton has said losing Angus Deayton from Have I Got News For You was no big deal - as he never liked him anyway.

Interviewed on BBC1's Parkinson, Merton said: "I sometimes feel like the Marx brothers losing Zeppo - it's not a big deal."

"Just get somebody who can read out loud and sit in the middle."

He added that the animosity between him and Deayton, who was sacked following revelations about his private life, was genuine.

"We weren't friends particularly," he said. "People sometimes think that people in showbiz all live together in a lovely houser.

"But we didn't really get on. But it worked for the show because there was an animosity there and that was OK."

And he said that sacking was the right move, as it would have compromised their ability to criticise others for their behaviour.

Published: 12 Apr 2003