EX-GOGGLEBOX star Chris Ashby-Steed has claimed he was 'bullied off the show' in a rant via his husband Tony.
Tony, who has been married to Chris since 2017, has lashed out on his partner's behalf following the sudden exit of Gogglebox's Paige Deville.
Taking to Twitter, Tony has accused production staff of standing by and letting Chris' co-star Stephen Webb 'bully' him off the show.
Tony, who married Chris a year before he left Gogglebox, also claims that show bosses did not reach out to his husband after it emerged he was left 'feeling suicidal following his departure'.
The bold accusations come just days after Paige launched a scathing attack at Gogglebox, claiming she experienced "zero aftercare" while on the show.
Tweeting the 25-year-old directly, Tony said: "Our hearts go out to you @Paige_deville. The studio stood by and watched Stephen bully my husband Chris off the show and did nothing to stop him. The helped him get his mum on the show behind Chris’s back without even telling him….
"@Paige_deville, they don’t seem to give a damn about the people below the superficial, it’s all about ratings and awards, not people.
"Even when it came out that being forced off the show made Chris suicidal, they didn’t contact him once!"
Tony went on to claim both he and Chris are 'haunted' by their experience, but insisted to worried fans that is husband is "better now".
"He’s a lot better now thanks, but he’s not fragile," Tony told a concerned follower.
"He has a tough constitution – years of bullying as a kid made him toughen up. But everyone has their limits. He was robbed of so much by Stephen and treated so badly by the studio that it tipped him over, sadly :-(."
A Gogglebox spokesperson told The Sun Online: “Support is available to all previous and current cast members as the welfare of the families – past and present – is of utmost importance.”
The Sun Online has also contacted Stephen's rep for comment.
Chris joined Gogglebox alongside Stephen in 2013. The pair started out as a couple but agreed to continue on the show as friends after their romance came to an end.
But in 2018, fans were left shocked when Chris was replaced by Stephen's mum on the sofa. In more recent years, Stephen has starred alongside his husband Daniel Lustig.
…it's all about ratings and awards, not people."
Speaking in 2019 about his exit, Chris claimed he and Stephen were originally set to leave Gogglebox together after a production company approached them for a separate venture.
However, Chris said he was left in the lurch when Stephen emailed the studio to terminate the production without consulting his co-star.
Chris continued: "After he sent that email I didn’t speak to him for a little while because I was hurt by it."
He then recalled telling Stephen: "I get the impression that I think a lot more of you than you do of me" – and was shocked when the TV star told him that he was "probably right".
Chris went on to claim that Stephen would regularly put him down with 'snide remarks'.
The telly star said that Gogglebox producers agreed to let both men appear with new partners on alternate weeks of the show, which is when Stephen drafted in his mum.
However, bosses were apparently unhappy with Chris' suggestion for his new partner and told him that it "wasn't going to work", and he announced his departure from the show in February 2018.
When Chris spoke out in 2019, a Googlebox spokesperson insisted that "the duty of care of the Gogglebox contributors is of paramount importance."
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