Celebrity Big Brother’s Ben Jardine reacts to Roxanne Pallett’s departure

Celebrity Big Brother's latest evictee Ben Jardine has reacted to Roxanne Pallet's departure from the house - and defended their close relationship in the house.

The pair became very flirty during their time in the Celebrity Big Brother house, with Ben eventually confessing that he loved the ex-Emmerdale star, who is engaged to Lee Walton. Roxanne ended up leaving the house after his eviction, which happened on Friday night, following her allegations that fellow housemate Ryan Thomas had punched her. Ryan received a formal warning for the incident, while Roxanne urged Big Brother to remove him from the house. But Married at First Sight's Ben admitted he was a "little bit gutted" after seeing footage of what happened in the house - and felt he had been played by the actress. He told The Mirror: 

“I do feel like I got played a little bit and I still feel a little bit upset about that, but at the same time I'm glad I handled the situation the way I did. “After seeing the footage last night – I'll say it as it is – I feel like a mug, like I got drawn into something. I feel very, very upset about it. I don't know if I'd be sat here now if that didn't happen.”

The newly evicted Celebrity Big Brother contestant was reportedly told about Roxanne walking  out of the house during the interview - and appeared to be stunned by the news. He said:

“What? She's left? Oh my god. That's the first I've heard of that. She's gone? Do you know what, I don't know what to do. “I feel like I need to get myself together a bit and have 24 hours. My head's spinning.”

The Married at First Sight contestant insisted he didn't regret anything about his friendship with the actress, adding: "I think she brought the best out of me." He said:

"At the end of the day, I tried to handle the situation as a gentleman. I can't help who I am, I wear my heart on my sleeve. “I looked into her eyes and I saw myself staring back at me, so it is what it is.”

He also praised his former housemate Ryan as a "gentleman" and a "genuine guy". Ben added:

“The way it was portrayed to me was a totally, totally different scenario and that's what I was dealing with for the last 24 hours in that house. “I confronted the situation [with Ryan] head on, I seen in the man's eyes something wasn't right. And I've got a lot of love for him, and I do feel for him now I've seen the footage. “He even said to me: 'Ben, thank you so much for coming to me.' And that's a gentleman. “I've seen the man's tears. I looked in the whites of his eyes and I felt for him yesterday. He's a genuine guy and I hope he's alright, really.”