Phil Collins on Channel 5: What He Told Piers Morgan About His Marriages, His Children and Paul McCartney

Phil Collins, 75, told Piers Morgan that he regrets his marriages ending, that by his own account he is on good terms with all five of his children, and that he has made peace with Paul McCartney. The comments come from a Channel 5 Piers Morgan Uncensored special listed for Friday 2 October 2026. Much of the coverage rests on clips released before broadcast and we did not watch the full programme, so this is written as of Saturday 3 October 2026 and reports only what Collins is said to have said.

When was the Phil Collins interview shown, and can you still watch it?

It is a Piers Morgan Uncensored special, billed as Piers and Phil Collins Uncensored, which one TV listing places on Channel 5 at 10 pm on Friday 2 October 2026. We found that listing only, and we could not confirm whether the programme is on My5 or on the show’s YouTube channel, or for how long. One music-news report refers to the show’s YouTube version, so a web edition may exist. Much of the coverage is dated 2 October and appears to predate the 10 pm slot, which means it was built from pre-released clips and previews. A report published on Saturday 3 October says the interview aired on the Friday. The full broadcast may contain more, or different, material than is covered here.

Who is Phil Collins, and why is he in the news?

Phil Collins, born on 30 January 1951 in London, is an English drummer, singer and songwriter who joined Genesis in 1970 and released his first solo album, Face Value, in 1981. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Genesis in 2010, and the Hall’s own site lists him as a 2026 inductee in the Performer category. The ceremony is reported for 14 November 2026 in Los Angeles, so the Channel 5 special falls in the weeks before it.

What did Phil Collins say about his marriages?

Collins said he regrets that his marriages fell apart, and that he did not want to be married three times. Reports from more than one outlet quote him as saying: “I regret my marriages falling apart.” He framed the endings as one where he jumped and two where he was pushed, and said he has five children he would not otherwise have had. Collins has been married three times, in 1975, 1984 and 1999, according to the public record. We have not repeated anything said about his former wives, who are not part of this account, and report only what he said about himself.

What did Phil Collins say about his children and Lily Collins?

Collins said he is on good terms with all five of his children, and that his daughter Lily wishes she had not written about him in her 2017 memoir. Lily Collins, 37, is the actress best known for Emily in Paris, and reports link his comment to an open letter about him in her memoir, Unfiltered. As Collins tells it, she thought what she wrote was hurtful, he acknowledged fault in how he treated her mother, and he has tried to be there for her. Wire-copy headlines describe him as fully reconciled with her, but that is the outlet’s wording and the account of her feelings is his. We found no public statement from Lily Collins as of 3 October 2026.

He also described a four-day Christmas gathering for all five children at a London hotel, which he called moving. Reports place it at “last Christmas” but are not consistent on the year, so we have not dated it.

What did Phil Collins say about his health and drumming?

Collins said he has not played the drums for about 15 years, and reports say he describes himself as healthier than he has been for quite a while. The coverage we read does not make clear whether that second remark was made on the programme or earlier this year. Reports of the interview also mention a long hospital stay in 2024, put at about seven months in intensive care, which he said he remembers little of, and they describe it as alcohol-related. We are repeating only what he is reported to have said about himself, and we say nothing about his current condition beyond that.

What did Phil Collins say about Paul McCartney?

Collins said a remark by Paul McCartney at the 2002 Queen’s Golden Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace bothered him, that he later told McCartney he regretted it, and that the two have since made peace. As he tells it, he asked McCartney for an autograph and found the reply, a line about him being a big Beatles fan, condescending. The wording of that line differs between reports, so we paraphrase it. Collins had already written about the exchange in his 2016 memoir, Not Dead Yet. One report says the thaw began when McCartney phoned about a King’s Trust auction, a detail we found in only one outlet. This is Collins’s recollection, and we found no response from McCartney as of 3 October 2026.

Separately, at a London Q&A marking 45 years of Face Value with Steven Wilson, Collins said a reference to his cover of Tomorrow Never Knows in the original 1995 Beatles Anthology documentary seems to have been taken out of the version now available. He speculated that McCartney may not have liked it. Reports note that he offered no evidence for that and that McCartney has not publicly responded.

What did Phil Collins say about Oasis and Noel Gallagher?

Collins said he is not particularly an Oasis fan, because the band remind him too much of the Beatles, whom he prefers. He also said he will be friendly towards Noel Gallagher at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, where both Collins and Oasis are 2026 inductees. We found no reply from Gallagher to those remarks as of 3 October 2026.

What have we not been able to confirm?

We have not confirmed where the full programme can be watched, what Lily Collins or Paul McCartney think of his account, or anything beyond what outlets reported from clips and previews.

The programme also covered other subjects, including politics, which we have chosen not to summarise here. This page is a snapshot as of Saturday 3 October 2026. Catch-up availability, any reply from the people Collins spoke about, and the Hall of Fame ceremony in November are the points most likely to change it.