"My life ain’t perfect… far from it. I’ve made big mistakes, I’ve let people down, and done things I’ll always regret in my past."
Those words of accountability were the opening lines of a lengthy statement from Strictly Come Dancing's Thomas Skinner this week after facing yet another bombardment of headlines and trolling about his life away from the cameras.
For context, Skinner shot to fame on The Apprentice 2019. The mattress and pillow salesman quickly endeared himself to viewers and Lord Alan Sugar alike with his confident and cheeky chappy persona. Lord Sugar even admitted he didn't want to fire Skinner when the time came.
Stints on panel shows like The Wheel, 8 Out of 10 Cats, and Celebrity MasterChef followed with TV bosses keen to capitalise on the popularity of the smiley Essex geezer. Memes, gifs, and a vast social media following beckoned.
But the tone in public discourse has shifted in six years since Skinner shot to fame. Something not just he, but his family has discovered over the past five weeks since he was unveiled as a Strictly star.
It's the worst-kept secret that British tabloids love nothing better than tearing a public figure down, especially once success threatens to grace their door, but the reaction to Skinner's appointment feels a lot more insidious.
Thomas Skinner was announced as a Strictly contestant over the summer | BBCWith tabloids and gossip mags now backed by the trolls of social media, Skinner and other public figures now face a coalition so filled with nonsense and hate that even a certain Mr Clegg and Mr Cameron would be shaking their heads.
Let's look at what Skinner has had to face from the 'be kind' warriors and tabloids since he signed up to - what's still rather pointlessly billed - as the nation's biggest "family-friendly" night of fun.
First, they came for his criminal past. Instagram users flocked to the announcement of Skinner's unveiling to bombard the show with supposed revelations about Skinner's run-ins with the law almost a decade and a half ago.
Skinner was sentenced in court after being charged with dishonestly handling cosmetic goods worth nearly £40,000. He held his hands up and following his appointment for The Apprentice, the BBC backed him and said it was aware of the past mistakes and that the conviction is spent.
Thomas Skinner found fame for starring in the 2019 series of BBC's The Apprentice | BBCA justification worthy of abating the bloodthirsty mob? Nowhere near.
Next, they came for his patriotic views on social media. Skinner's a proud Brit and makes no secret of such.
“There’s nothing extreme about flying your flag and loving your country. That’s not far-Right, that’s just pride," he once tweeted, only to be met with the usual torrent of pink-haired avatars screaming he was a "fascist" and would've been more at home in 1940s Germany. Ridiculousness personified.
But Skinner has remained unwavering in his patriotism, regularly supported by fellow proud Brits. Sadly for the lefties wanting a withdrawal from Strictly, it was as absent as their grasp on nuance.
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Thomas Skinner and his wife Sinead are currently facing the wrath of the so-called 'be kind' mob
| INSTAGRAMThen they came for his political viewpoints and friendship with JD Vance. Skinner has criticised the current Labour government for its handling of certain issues, but by this point, who hasn't?
He's been accused of being far-right simply for expressing his patriotism; he rarely voices political spiel. He's expressed no allegiance to a specific political party and doesn't socialise with the likes of Tommy Robinson or, in certain celebrity circles branded far-right.
But a barbecue with American Vice President JD Vance in the summer was enough for the baying mob to declare victory. We were right! Look! Two fascists are enjoying a burger and plotting to do a fascism!
Not quite. "If the vice-president of the USA invites me over for a barbecue and he sends his Secret Service in an armoured car to pick me up, I ain’t gonna say no, am I? Bosh! I’m right there," Skinner explained. And let's face it, the majority of us would do the same.
Thomas Skinner and his wife Sinead with their three children
| INSTAGRAMHe's the second most powerful man in the United States. The deputy of the party voted to lead the country by the American public. Agree with his views or not, the idea that this made Skinner some far-right neo-Nazi is beyond preposterous.
Then there was the so-called press day "storm-out". Skinner hit headlines when the press were invited to Elstree Studios to speak to the cast about the series.
During the roundtable interviews, Skinner handled a journalist's phone after spotting a message about his personal life appear on-screen. Clearly irked by what he saw, he decided not to participate in the interviews.
Headlines across the tabloids described it as a "STORM out in RAGE". Following the coverage, you'd be forgiven for picturing the 34-year-old flipping tables, throwing prop disco balls at young reporters' heads, and smearing fake tan across the walls while foaming at the mouth.
I was there. Whatever commotion took place was very much limited to the table where the incident occurred. In fact, the so-called "storm out" was so dramatic and ear drum-bustingly loud that when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink sat at my table for an interview solo, Skinner's absence was plausibly explained by a BBC member of staff as "taking a call".
I didn't bat an eye, and neither did any of the journalists at my table. The fact that the supposed "fit of rage" that some tabloids described could be passed off as someone slipping outside to take a work call raised no eyebrows.
Now, they've come for Skinner over a "fling" he has admitted to taking part in over three years ago.
Over the weekend, a beauty clinic owner named Amy-Lucy O'Rourke claimed to the Daily Mail that Skinner had embarked on an affair with her while concealing the fact that he was married to his wife, Sinead.
Amy-Lucy O'Rourke has issued several public rants about how her story has been handled by the press
|She alleged she didn't know Skinner was married, said they were friends before, and published texts allegedly between the two that she says prove he emotionally manipulated her.
There's even Ring doorbell footage of Skinner attempting to speak to her at her front door sometime in 2022.
Skinner admitted that O'Rourke's decision to go to the press with the story "forced him into a corner". He went to The Sun on Sunday to tearfully explain it was the "biggest mistake of his life" and paid tribute to his wife for "forgiving him" and deciding to stay together.
Since the revelations, O'Rourke has contested a number of Skinner's claims, including the timespan of their "fling" as well as which of them was responsible for telling his wife, the mother of his three children.
Thomas Skinner faced criticism for enjoying a barbecue with JD Vance
| XNow, I, of course, do not know the details of the relationship. Only O'Rourke and Skinner do.
What I do know is that there is a mum and her three children stuck at the centre of this that have done nothing to deserve the intrusion on their lives and the relentless ridicule from online trolls.
O'Rourke defended her decision to go public and said she'd been contacted to sell the story before. She only chose now because she had been "broken" before. Strictly starting must just be a glitter-covered coincidence.
She also claimed in a series of social media rants that it was "never about the money", while also bragging in a separate Instagram video that she wasn't being paid "half as much as she should" for selling the story.
BBC Strictly: The cast of 2025
|BBC
And in another series of outbursts, O'Rourke has turned against the very tabloid journalists she sold the story to for "manipulating" her claims, alleging the texts she shared between her and Skinner were being "illegally" published online... She then proceeded to plaster the texts all over her social media.
The conflicting accounts from Skinner and O'Rourke have created a mess that his "tolerant" opponents have been more than happy to jump headfirst into.
And while the timing is questionable, I don't actually think you can blame O'Rourke for deciding to go public when there would've undoubtedly been a fat cheque in front of her and she felt she was emotionally ready to spill.
But as evident in her subsequent social media tirades, she's learning the hard way the toll trolling and manipulation by the British tabloids can have. Whether it was naivety or simple unpreparedness, it's clearly not playing out as she expected. Imagine what it's like for the Skinners.
Thomas Skinner regularly posts updates of his family on social media
|It isn't up for debate how much the 'be kind' brigade has lapped up reading the stories assassinating Skinner's character with absolutely no regard for his wife and three children.
Whether you think his "family man" persona is a facade or if you think he's one of these so-called "grifters", the vitriol his wife and son Henry, four, and twins Darla and Roma, both two now have to encounter is paradoxical to the mob's 'be kind' mantra they claim to live by.
And what more do his critics need? For every contentious point in his past, there has been a subsequent apology and measure of accountability from Skinner.
Again, whether you agree with his statements, at what point will critics be happy? His withdrawal from Strictly? The breakdown of his marriage?
Thomas Skinner's wife Sinead knew about the fling that has hit headlines recently
|Because that would solve everything, right? Snatch the biggest role of a TV star's life from his grasp while simultaneously ensuring his three young children grow up without him in the home. And while we're at it, any other TV show stupid enough to offer him work will be met with the same furore as Strictly.
That'd solve everything, right? All the world's problems solved from behind a keyboard by a 22-year-old soap shop employee with a nose ring.
Or how about we leave a family having to deal publicly with a regurgitated three-year-old tale of infidelity alone?
Don't like the bloke? Don't vote for him to win Strictly. But I, for one, am tired of seeing public figures' dirty laundry being aired so publicly, where the only remedy in the eyes of the mob is for them to lose everything.
Accountability is key, and from where I'm standing, Skinner has done nothing but own his mistakes and should now focus his attention solely on gearing up for what will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of his career.
Although, for those familiar with social media videos, I don't know if I can forgive eating lasagnes in an East London cafe at 5am. That's where I draw the line. Bosh.