Former Atomic Kitten singer Kerry Katona has hit out at Thomas Skinner after he grabbed a reporter’s phone and stormed out of an interview for Strictly Come Dancing
Kerry Katona has hit out at Strictly Come Dancing’s new contestant, Thomas Skinner, after he grabbed a journalist’s phone and stormed out of a recent interview. The 34-year-old was being interviewed alongside the rest of the 2025 line-up by journalists at BBC’s Elstree Studios this week when he suddenly stormed out.
The contestant grabbed a reporter’s phone after being asked a question as they asked him to stop. He had arrived at the table of journalists with fellow contestant Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. A female reporter asked him what motivated him to sign up for Strictly and, in that moment, he realised he was being recorded on a phone during the press event.
“What’s that?”, he demanded, before picking up the woman’s phone and taking it from the table.
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Thomas received a lot of backlash over the incident, and Kerry shared her two pence in her column for new! magazine.
Kerry said: “I read last week about the drama during the Strictly press launch, where Thomas Skinner, who was on The Apprentice, stormed out after getting angry at a journalist recording him. Whatever was going on behind the scenes, I think that’s a bit ridiculous!
“That’s what happens at press days. I worked for years to get to where I am, so have always been humble and nice to people doing their job, but sometimes overnight celebrities haven’t had that same journey.”
Following the incident, Thomas gave his side of the story on his Instagram Stories. He wrote: “To set the record straight of the back of yesterday.
“During one of the interviews, a journalist placed their phone on the table to record the conversation.
“I happened to catch a glimpse of the screen and saw numerous messages – not about Strictly but about a personal story from my past.
“I’ve been through some difficult times in my life, which I have worked hard to move on from. In that moment, seeing it there caught me off guard. I felt it was best to step away and gather myself.”
Skinner went on: “This had nothing to do with Strictly or the interviews themselves. I’m sorry I picked up someone else’s phone and I don’t even know if the journalist realised their messages were visible, and I don’t want to suggest any bad intentions on their part.
“What I do want to say is how excited I am to be part of Strictly this year. I’m so grateful for all the love, kindness and support I’ve been shown so far. It means the world to me, and I can’t wait to give it my all on that dancefloor. Bosh.”
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Source: Mirror
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