Celebrity Big Brother winner Ryan Thomas forgives Roxanne Pallett after 'punch' row'

'Forgiveness is a big thing so if she wants forgiveness and it makes her feel better than I would give her that'

Ryan Thomas has won the latest series of Celebrity Big Brother, using the opportunity to forgive fellow contestant Roxanne Pallett.

“For me, I have the best network of family and friends, I have the best mates in the world, that’s what’s important to me,” he said, speaking to Emma Willis after the victory.

“If this person has an issue and a misunderstanding, who am I to sit there and judge?

“Forgiveness is a big thing so if she wants forgiveness and it makes her feel better than I would give her that. I think she’s been punished enough by the public.”

Pallett, a former Emmerdale star, quit the Big Brother house after claiming Thomas “punched” her “repeatedly, unprovoked, and completely deliberately” during a play-fight. She then called for him to be removed from the reality show and also asked to sleep in a separate room because she no longer felt “safe” in the shared bedroom.

However, Pallett later stated she had “overreacted” to the incident, telling Jeremy Vine: “When I look back on that footage, as soon as I left the house… I got it wrong. [It was] an overreaction to what wasn’t a malicious act. I was sensitive and emotional and mistook what was playful – I apologise for it, I shouldn’t have questioned his motivation.”

“I need to better myself and this is a serious subject and is something I need to focus on,” Pallett said. “I need to rebuild my career and my personal life - this has overshadowed everything and I'm taking this massively seriously. I hope that people can forgive me and I hope that Ryan can forgive me in time."

The incident generated over 11,000 Ofcom complaints with many viewers unhappy with producers’ failure to show the remaining housemates the footage of the moment.

Thomas was shown the footage during his sit-down chat with Willis, after which he said: “It was totally unexpected. It was a sign of affection that I’ve used on Gabby, the boys.”

“And unexpected because there was nothing in it and as it unravelled, as it became bigger and bigger, the thing that scared me the most was when Ben said she couldn’t stay in the room with me because she was scared. That rang alarm bells. Then the game became real life for me. I did break. I was a scared little boy. I just wanted out.”

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