Gary Goldsmith has addressed a poorly-timed interview, following the news of his niece, Kate Middleton’s, cancer diagnosis.
The Celebrity Big Brother star, 58, was the first housemate to be evicted from the reality programme earlier this month, and missed out on the final last night.
The spectacle saw David Potts crowned winner, with Louis Walsh finishing in fourth place, and This Morning legend Fern Britton behind in fifth.
Goldsmith’s absence from the live show, as well as Ekin-Su Culculoglu’s, came after the Princess of Wales released a video announcing that she has been diagnosed with cancer, and is privately been undergoing chemotherapy.
Ahead of the final, he wrote on X: ‘Following today’s news, I will not be attending tonight’s Celebrity Big Brother final.
‘I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to my fellow Housemates and to everyone involved in the making of this brilliant show. I hope you all enjoy your special night.’
Hours later, he shared an update: ‘As many will have seen, I am featured in Saturday’s “Times Magazine”. This interview and shoot was done over a week ago and went to print before I was aware of the sad news regarding my niece Kate.
Up Next
‘My thoughts and prayers are with Kate and the wider family at this difficult time and deeply upset at the timing of this article. I hope this draws a line over the continued speculation and horrible conspiracies. Let’s give Kate, William & the children time and show some love back.’
The interview itself opens with a disclaimer saying it was ‘printed several days before’ Kate’s news, with the interview conducted last week.
In it, he claims the first words he said to Prince William were ‘Oi, you f**ker’ after the royal broke an ornament, and spoke about how much he was paid for his five days on the show: £100,000.
Branding the fee ‘half a watch’, he goes on to The Times: ‘I loved Levi Roots and Fern Britton [two of the other contestants] — beautiful souls …
‘But Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh? Nah, they just talked about themselves the whole time.
‘And f*** me, I knew I’d probably overpacked, but Sharon kicking me out after five days was just a joke [Osbourne had to nominate one contestant to face a public vote]. Still, I achieved what I set out to do.’
Gary’s post on X has been hit with backlash, with one follower telling him to ‘read the room’
Jay wrote: ‘I think you need to read the room. A grand total of no one has seen, or will see the article. It’s probably best to just stay quiet and dignified.’
Loulouland slammed: ‘Why the hell did it take a cancer diagnosis to recognise that your interview “outing” your “family” was disgusting? It was obvious Kate was struggling and there were issues so regardless of the diagnosis you should be utterly ashamed. was it worth it?!’
Goldsmith sparked a lot of controversy during his time on the show, and became the first housemate voted out, but left saying he had ‘the best time’.
He was accused of ‘faking’ tears after claiming to be a ‘national villain’, and was described by Sharon Osbourne as ‘odd’.
‘It’s been a crazy whirlwind,’ he said on Late and Live after returning to the ‘real world’.
‘I don’t consider myself to be a celebrity,’ he added, saying the reality stint was ‘just an opportunity to be in that environment’.
Celebrity Big Brother is available to watch on ITVX.
