Piers Morgan has joked that Russia was not on his “immediate vacation to-do list” after the country banned him from entering.

The TalkTV presenter, 57, appears on a list of 39 newly sanctioned individuals no longer allowed to visit the Russian Federation.

On Monday, the Russian foreign ministry also barred journalists including BBC presenter Huw Edwards, ITV’s Robert Peston and head of Sky News, John Ryley.

Responding to the news on Twitter, Morgan wrote: “It wasn’t on my immediate vacation to-do list.”

The former tabloid editor recently hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska, on his TalkTV weeknight show.

The interview saw Mr Zelensky describe Boris Johnson as a “big friend of Ukraine” and call for him not to “disappear” after he stands down as Prime Minister following the end of the Tory party leadership contest.

On Instagram, Morgan shared a photo of the list of newly sanctioned individuals and quipped: “Putin took my Zelensky interview well…”

Last year, the presenter made headlines after leaving Good Morning Britain following an on-air clash with weather presenter Alex Beresford over the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The former tabloid editor said he did not believe Meghan’s claims from the headline-making interview, with his comments sparking more than 50,000 complaints, the most in Ofcom’s history.

His show on TalkTV, Piers Morgan Uncensored, launched in April.