Hugh Grant U.K. TV Documentary Includes Piers Morgan Phone Hacking Comments (Video) 8:00 AM PST 11/28/2012 by George Szalai (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)

Previously unseen footage of the CNN host and then-tabloid editor saying "a spate of stories" came out "because of mobile phones" could reignite an old debate.

LONDON - A Hugh Grant TV documentary set to air in the U.K. Wednesday night includes previously unseen 2003 footage of CNN host Piers Morgan telling British singer Charlotte Church about news stories that emerged thanks to phone hacking.

Channel 4, which will air Hugh Grant: Taking on the Tabloids at 8 p.m. London time, posted a video clip of the footage on YouTube Wednesday. It could reignite the debate about former Daily Mirror editor Morgan and his knowledge about hacking.

Channel 4 said Church's chat with Morgan was filmed when singer was 17 and preparing to address a crowd about a potential privacy law to protect under-18-year-olds.

During the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics and standards in the U.K., Morgan denied any involvement in hacking or having any reason to believe that it may have been used during his time at the Daily Mirror. As Channel 4 put it: "Piers Morgan has always said that he knew phone hacking existed, and he still maintains that he never knowingly used it."

Earlier this year, BBC host Jeremy Paxman told the Leveson Inquiry that Morgan once described how hacking works during a lunch event.



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Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com
Twitter: @georgszalai