Ryan Thomas forgives Roxanne Pallett for 'punchgate' as he wins CBB
The Coronation Street star appeared close to tears as he described "breaking" under the stress of actress's punching accusation.
Tuesday 11 September 2018 06:53, UK
A tearful Ryan Thomas said he would forgive Roxanne Pallett as he was crowned the winner of this year's Celebrity Big Brother.
His victory comes just days after the former Emmerdale actress accused him of punching her - causing him to be issued with a formal warning.
Pallett left the compound and was vilified on social media before apologising for her overreaction to what appeared to be no more than playfulness.
The Coronation Street actor said: "If she wants forgiveness and it makes her feel better then I would rather give her that, because I think she's been punished enough by the public and people around her."
Speaking about the controversy, he described himself as a "scared little boy".
He said: "As it unravelled, as it became bigger and bigger, the thing that scared me the most was when Ben (Jardine) told me she couldn't stay in the room with me because she was scared.
"That rang alarm bells and then the game became real life for me. I did break."
He struggled to contain tears when presenter Emma Willis told him there had been an outpouring of public support for him.
He spent some of his final moments in the Big Brother house with runner-up Kirstie Alley. The former Cheers star said: "I never foresaw myself sleeping with 13 other people, like Caligula or something."