CBB's Ryan Thomas breaks internet's heart as letter from home tells him all's OK after Roxanne Pallett scandal
"Everyone has seen the real you"
Celebrity Big Brother contestant Ryan Thomas broke down in tears last night after receiving a reassuring letter from his brother – an emotional moment in the wake of the Roxanne Pallett scandal.
The reality show has been rocked by controversy this year, after former contestant Pallett claimed that she had been ‘punched’ by fellow housemate Thomas. This incident, captured on camera, has since been inferred by viewers to have been wildly exaggerated by Pallett.
- Roxanne Pallett quits Celebrity Big Brother 2018 following "punching" row
- Celebrity Big Brother 2018: Ryan warned over Roxanne "punching" incident – but viewers are not convinced
- Celebrity Big Brother presenter Rylan says housemates should be shown Roxanne and Ryan "punching" footage
The letter, from Thomas’ brother Scott, didn’t reference punch-gate directly, but did explain:
“You’ve shown the nation just how amazing you really are and carried yourself so well. I know you will be worried about how you are coming across but we want you to know you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Everyone has seen the real you.”
Elsewhere in the letter, which was read out by housemate Sally Morgan, Scott told his soap star brother how “proud” his family were of his time in the house, and praised him for taking himself out of his ‘comfort zone’.
It also went on to say that his daughter Scarlett missed him (and found the challenges hilarious), and included kind words about his girlfriend Lucy Mecklenburgh, best known for her stint on The Only Way is Essex.
“Lucy is more than proud of you and she is so happy everyone gets to see the Ryan she knows and loves,” the letter said. “Honestly bro, just keep being you and keep shining.”
The letter proved too much for an emotional Thomas, who has suffered a grueling few weeks in the house – defined mostly by the fear that Pallett had ruined his life and career.
Since leaving the house, Pallett has made two TV appearances to discuss the incident. In her first, on The Jeremy Vine Show, she "massively" apologised to Thomas and said that she "got it wrong." In a second interview, with CBB host Emma Willis, she said that, "I’m the most hated girl in Britain right now, " while later adding, "I needed to come and tell everyone that I got it wrong. I'm human. I made a massive, massive, horrible mistake."
Celebrity Big Brother airs on Channel 5
Authors
Stephen Kelly is a freelance culture and science journalist. He oversees BBC Science Focus's Popcorn Science feature, where every month we get an expert to weigh in on the plausibility of a newly released TV show or film. Beyond BBC Science Focus, he has written for such publications as The Guardian, The Telegraph, The I, BBC Culture, Wired, Total Film, Radio Times and Entertainment Weekly. He is a big fan of Studio Ghibli movies, the apparent football team Tottenham Hotspur and writing short biographies in the third person.