Ricky Gervais has leapt to the defence of Christopher Biggins following his removal from the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ house.
The entertainer was thrown off the Channel 5 reality show on Friday (5 August) after making a joke about concentration camps to Jewish housemate Katie Waissel, and making a series of problematic comments about bisexual people.
While Biggins has since apologised for his remarks, Ricky has appeared to claim other housemates should have been removed for their offensive behaviour before Biggins.
The ‘David Brent On The Road’ actor tweeted:
His comment prompted Biggins to thank him for his support:
Making reference to various incidents in the house, including Marnie Simpson exposing herself to Saira Khan, Aubrey O’Day spitting in Stephen Bear’s sandwich and Bear smashing a mirror in a fit of rage, Ricky then went on to add:
Biggins’ agent, Jonathan Shalit, has also spoke out to defend the star after his ejection, claiming he would “never intentionally cause offence”.
Speaking to The Sun over the weekend, he said: “I have been close friends and worked with Biggins for many years and can confirm that he would never intentionally cause offence.
In a later interview with the paper, Biggins claimed he was “mortified” over his removal, and revealed plans to visit two Nazi concentration camps, following his anti-Semitic joke to Jewish housemate Katie Waissel.
The mother of the former ‘X Factor’ star has also weighed in the matter, claiming that Biggins should be quizzed by police over his remark.
Diana Waissel told The Mirror: “If his comments are as bad as we’re led to believe, they constitute a hate crime – police should be called in to investigate.
‘Celebrity Big Brother’ airs nightly on Channel 5.
