AJ Odudu has spoken out after the controversy surrounding Mickey Rourke during the recent Celebrity Big Brother launch.
During the first episode of the new series earlier this week, the Oscar-nominated actor was called out by viewers for his "inappropriate" behaviour towards presenter Odudu.
Following his shaking of fellow presenter Will Best's hand, Rourke proceeded to twirl Odudu around before pulling her close to him.
"Careful, Mickey," Best said, before Rourke stared Odudu up and down, which led her to say: "Stop looking at me!"
Odudu has now addressed the controversy in response to a fan on Instagram who wrote on a recent post: "I hope you’re okay after THAT final entrance! Good to see you back."
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Odudu replied: "Don't worry about me my darling."
On launch night, many fans called for Rourke's early exit from the show over his behaviour, one writing: "AJ shouldn’t have to deal with that. No woman should have to laugh it off when a man acts inappropriately. Disgusting. Do the right thing and give him a swift exit."
Another called it "vile" and "uncomfortable", while a third wrote: "His behaviour towards AJ shouldn’t continue to be able to be on national tv. It doesn’t protect women and doesn’t teach respect. Come on @itv. Remove him."
Related: Celebrity Big Brother launch show suffers huge ratings drop as housemates revealed
Rourke was among the celebrities to be given special powers during last night's episode alongside JoJo Siwa and Chris Hughes.
Last night's episode also confirmed that Trisha Goddard has her own private bedroom in the house due to her palliative care for terminal stage 4 breast cancer.
Celebrity Big Brother airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
Read more Celebrity Big Brother news on our dedicated homepage
Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
