Lorraine confirms Ekin-Su "did not pull out" of interview and issues apology

Lorraine has confirmed that Celebrity Big Brother star Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu "did not pull out" of the show this week.

The star was scheduled to appear on the ITV daytime show yesterday (March 18) in the wake of her eviction from the CBB house last week.

However, it appeared that she had pulled out of Lorraine ahead of the show's broadcast in the morning, as Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid asked Lorraine Kelly in a live link: "We thought you might have Ekin-Su on."

Related: Celebrity Big Brother confirms housemates nominated for live double eviction

"So did I... but alas no," Lorraine replied. "I don't know, we're trying to find out. She was due to come in right, but no."

Lorraine has now issued an official statement on the show's official Instagram page, clarifying: "We'd like to clear up a misunderstanding, Ekin-Su did not pull out of the show or throw the programme into chaos this morning.

"We'd love to welcome her back on the programme soon. We apologise for the confusion."

Ekin-Su proved controversial during her time in the CBB house, and after her eviction clashed with Late & Live guest Layton Williams over how she was edited.

Related: Celebrity Big Brother's Levi reflects on "ageist" house divide following eviction

The Strictly Come Dancing star defended her fellow housemate Marisha Wallace for choosing Ekin-Su in the face-to-face nominations, notably after the Love Island star picked friend Louis Walsh for her nomination.

Addressing her choice to confront Marisha, Ekin-Su then said: "You haven't seen everything, they cut stuff out."

Layton added: "You're not going to blame it on the edit. One thing you're not going to do is blame it on the edit. We see what we see and it's a shame."

Celebrity Big Brother airs Sundays through Fridays at 9pm on ITV1 and the ITV Hub, followed by Late & Live on ITV2 immediately following each new episode.

You Might Also Like

• PS5 consoles for sale – PlayStation 5 stock and restocks: Where to buy PS5 today?

• IS MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7 THE BEST IN THE SERIES? OUR REVIEW

• AEW game is a modern mix of No Mercy and SmackDown