Former I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! winner Carl ‘Foggy’ Fogarty has clarified recent remarks he made about Ant McPartlin.
Foggy, 52, was quoted in a new interview advising Ant to “man up” and “take responsibility” after the television presenter was charged with drink-driving after a car crash in March.
According to Daily Star, Foggy said: “He got in a car [after drinking alcohol] – don’t do that, it’s not right.
Read more: Holly and Phil address Ant McPartlin’s drink-drive fine
“You don’t need to go to rehab to be told to sort that out, you know that’s wrong and you shouldn’t be doing that.”
Superbike racing legend Foggy also suggested that Ant, 42, should “grow up, sort yourself out and take responsibility.”
Foggy’s remarks were reported by various outlets, some of which described him as having a “furious rant” at the Saturday Night Takeaway star.
But responding to one person on Twitter, Foggy clarified: “Don’t believe everything you read, dude. I love Ant!!!”
A rep for Foggy confirmed to ED! the star did not launch a “furious rant” about Ant, as suggested by some outlets, and said the comments were taken out of context during a “light-hearted” interview to promote Foggy’s new book, The World According To Foggy.
The book, out now, is filled with anecdotes from Foggy’s life on the track and behind the scenes.
Foggy got to know Ant during the 14th series of I’m A Celebrity back in 2014; Foggy was crowned King of the Jungle on the show hosted by Ant & Dec.
Ant pleaded guilty to drink-driving during an appearance at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
The Britain’s Got Talent co-host was involved in a car crash in Richmond, London on March 18, with the court being told he was twice the legal drink-drive limit.
He was fined a record £86,000, which the judge said was calculated based on Ant’s estimated weekly income of £130,000.
The star was also banned from driving for 20 months; that can be reduced to 15 months if he completes a drink-driving awareness course by May 2019.
Ant addressed reporters outside the court, saying: “I let myself down, I let a lot of people down. I am truly sorry. I would like to apologise to everybody involved in the crash. I’m just thankful nobody was seriously hurt. Thank you very much.”
After the crash, Ant’s publicist announced the star would be returning to treatment and stepping down from current TV commitments.
He missed the last two episodes of Saturday Night Takeaway’s recent series, and will not join Dec in co-hosting the Britain’s Got Talent live shows next month.
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