The maternal uncle of Britain's Princess of Wales has said that he has not had “true peace” after he admitted to assaulting his wife.
Businessman and podcast host Gary Goldsmith is nominated for the first Celebrity Big Brother eviction on Friday night alongside The Real Housewives Of Cheshire star Lauren Simon.
During a task in the latest episode of the British reality series, where housemates have to ask each other questions, former This Morning host Fern Britton questioned Goldsmith about whether he had “found peace within”.
The 59-year-old replied saying: “I think peace is something always to be striving for. I thought I was having a really cool life until something hits you.
“One day I was Gary, a businessman having a laugh with a great family. And then the next minute, I’m a national villain.
“So, I don’t really know what true peace is if I’m honest.”
Punishment has been served!
As seen on Celebrity Big Brother: Late & Live, Louis and Lauren have been put in the Celebrity Wheelie Bin of Shame for rule breaking 👀
See what went down in tomorrow night’s episode #CBBUK pic.twitter.com/yN1MxccexQAdvertisement— Celebrity Big Brother UK (@bbuk) March 7, 2024
The brother of Kate’s mother, Carole Middleton, was fined £5,800 and given a community order in November 2017 after pleading guilty to one count of assault by beating.
His wife accused him of taking drugs, the court was told, and a London taxi driver witnessed her being knocked to the ground outside their home.
Goldsmith’s inclusion on the show has been criticised by domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid, who said “the inclusion of men convicted of abuse in entertainment programmes will already be a sign that these crimes are not taken seriously” and the charity advised the programme to consider his appearance.
In a statement from the show, he previously said: “I’m not perfect and I made a mistake, a personal row seven years ago which was publicly exposed that I’ve worked endlessly for seven years to put right.
“The offence is long since spent however my regret continues.”
Elsewhere, Heartstopper star Bradley Riches said his “biggest regret” was not being proud of himself.
The 22-year-old was emotional as he said: “Growing up, finding out who I was, trying to understand who I was.
“But a lot of that time I lied about who I was and it hurt a lot. Just shying away from the real fact that I’m gay, I’m autistic and proud of who I am. That’s taken a long time for me to say that.”
The Thursday episode of Celebrity Big Brother: Late & Live had previously teased that Louis Walsh and Simon would have to enter a wheelie bin after the pair broke the rules.
Former X Factor judge Walsh and Simon had been “speculating or guessing on who has nominated whom or who might nominate whom in the future”, according to Big Brother.
It was also disclosed to the wider group that Simon had said YouTuber Zeze Millz “hates me”.
Millz told her: “I’m not bothered. I just don’t like the word hate. It’s a strong word. We’ve never had a conversation where you could feel like I hate you.”
Responding, Simon said: “I’m going to tell you the conversation. When I was making the fruit salad, you took the oranges and did it your way.
“You went over to the table in front of my face and said ‘This isn’t good enough for Lauren’. It wasn’t banter. It was rude to me.”
Celebrity Big Brother continues on Friday at 9pm on Virgin Media Two.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Women’s Aid (24-hour freephone helpline at 1800 341 900, email helpline@womensaid.ie) or Men’s Aid Ireland (confidential helpline at 01 554 3811, email hello@mensaid.ie) for support and information. Safe Ireland also outlines a number of local services and helplines at safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help.
