PIERS MORGAN has paid tribute to "brilliant broadcaster" and talk show host Larry King following his death today.

The TV star was taken to hospital in Los Angeles last month after testing positive for the virus.

The 87-year-old died this morning in hospital.

In an emotional tribute on Twitter, Newick-born journalist Piers Morgan, who replaced at King at CNN in 2011, said the host was once his "hero".

The Argus: Larry King died aged 87Larry King died aged 87

He said: "Larry King was a hero of mine until we fell out after I replaced him at CNN and he said my show was ‘like watching your mother-in-law go over a cliff in your new Bentley (he married 8 times so a mother-in-law expert)."

"But he was a brilliant broadcaster and masterful TV interviewer."

The Good Morning Britan host took over King’s primetime slot but the chat show was scrapped three years later over a drop in ratings.

The show launched in January 2011, but according to reports, initial audiences of two million fell to about 270,000.