Roxanne Pallet quits Celebrity Big Brother after Ryan Thomas 'punch' row

Former Emmerdale actress broke down in tears after the incident which she insisted was 'not a playfight'

Roxanne Pallett has quit the Celebrity Big Brother house after accusing Ryan Thomas of "punching her".

A CBB spokesperson confirmed: “Roxanne has decided to leave the BB House. The remaining housemates have been informed.”

Pallett is the second star from this year's series to leave without being evicted, following the removal of Rodrigo Alves.

Her exit comes after she accused ex-Coronation Street star Ryan of "punching her like a boxer" during a play fight while she had her hands full with a pile of dirty washing.

“Ow - woman beater that bl***y hurt. I was going to ask if you wanted your washing done but I might shrink them instead,” the former Emmerdale actress exclaimed before giggling.

However, later on in the Diary Room she broke down in tears, claiming he she had been “punched repeatedly, unprovoked and completely deliberately” by Thomoas and called for him to be removed from the Channel 5 show.

“I went from being upset to being angry, because a boy has punched me repeatedly, unprovoked,” she said. “And we weren't play fighting, there was no banter, it wasn't a joke,” she claimed.

Thomas was issued with a formal warning over the incident, while Pallet asked to sleep in a separate room because she no longer felt "safe" in the shared bedroom.

“At 3.55pm today Big Brother noticed that, whilst almost play-fighting, you punched Roxanne in the ribs,” the programme said. “This caused Roxanne to say ‘ow, that bloody hurt’. Whether you intended to hurt Roxanne or not is irrelevant.”

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Thomas was told: “Before you entered the Big Brother house, rules regarding unacceptable behaviour were explained to you. You have broken this rule.

“Big Brother is issuing you with a formal warning in regards to physical contact in the house. Any repetition and Big Brother may have no choice but to remove you from the house.”

Thomas apologised but insisted he had not intended to hurt her and had been play-fighting: “I think we both know, and Roxanne, that there was no malice or anger in anything I did.”

Channel 5 said it would not be commenting on the incident. Media watchdog OFCOM has received 11,215 complaints over the episode - thought to be about Pallett's reaction - and is deciding whether to investigate.