Philip Olivier claims Roxanne Pallett tried to get his best friend Ryan Thomas kicked out of the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ house because she was so "hungry to win the competition".
The former ‘Benidorm’ star was astonished when Roxanne accused Ryan of assaulting her during a bout of play-fighting which lasted just seconds, asking for him to be removed from the ‘CBB’ house for his actions.
Philip, 38, is pleased that the public saw what really happened and backed his pal Ryan, 34, and he is certain Roxanne, 35, was playing a game which backfired on her.
Appearing on ‘Loose Women’, he said: "He’s my best friend, so it’s heartbreaking to see him. Especially because he was apprehensive about going in, because he was thinking times have changed. I was saying to Ryan before he went in, ‘Are you joking, you’re gonna win this.’ Because the guy I know he is, thankfully, the whole nation’s seen it. I can’t wait for Ryan to come out, because he doesn’t even realise how big of a story he is. I don’t think there’s another person in the world that could have handled it the way he’s done.
"In terms of Roxy, what she’s done, she was just hungry to win the competition. She just wanted to get rid of Ryan because he was the favourite. If she would’ve come out and said that, great. But, you know, karma’s come back and we’ve had all this now, and I think it should end with her. I think she’s gone through enough turmoil herself. Leave that behind and let Ryan come out and get the praise that he deserves."
Philip appeared on the ITV daytime show with his former ‘Brookside’ co-star Jennifer Ellison, whom he was reunited with for the first time in 15 years.
Although the Channel 4 soap ended in November 2003 after 21 years on air, both actors had nothing but fond memories of their time on Phil Redmond’s show.
Jennifer, 35, said: "It was dramatic but it was the best time ever. I started when I was 12 I learned everything from it."
Philip added: "It feels like an eternity ago. It’s a massive part of our lives. If people told me when I was 15 I’d still be getting called Tinhead approaching 40…"
Philip Olivier accuses Roxanne Pallett of CBB plot to win
