When Piers Morgan was announced as the chat show successor to Larry King - whose Larry King Live show ended after 25 years in 2010 - it caused quite the buzz.

Morgan had already been a hit with American audiences with shows such as America’s Got Talent and Celebrity Apprentice, so many were excited about the arrival of Piers Morgan Tonight.

Last night he made his CNN debut by interviewing chat show queen and one of the most powerful people in America, Oprah Winfrey. If this was a baptism of fire then he came off without a scratch (maybe a singed brow) as critics were overall very impressed. Entertainment Weekly's website, EW.com, said, “The premiere of Piers Morgan Tonight revealed host Piers Morgan to be clever, tenacious, vain, a flatterer, and fitfully funny”, whilst Politico - referring to CNN's poor standing in the chat show rating war - declared that “Morgan might be just the solution that CNN needs”. With US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice amongst next week's guests, the show is sure to draw large audiences.

Morgan is known for his probing interview style, and for asking the questions that his interviewees' - and their PRs - don't want him to ask. Any fear of his technique being muted to suit a US audience were unfounded, as he quizzed Winfrey - one of America's wealthiest women - about her personal fortune, as well as on tough topics including teengage pregnancy, her relationship with food and why she'll never get married.

Watch Piers interviewing Oprah on various topics in the clips below.

When Piers met Oprah