[Red Moon]

Gaffney defends Bannerman's jungle antics

Former 'EastEnders' star Dean Gaffney has defended his friend Marc Bannerman over his antics on 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here'.

Gaffney, who appeared on the jungle show last year, claims that Bannerman appeared to be flirting excessively with singer Cerys Matthews because he is a very tactile person.

Gaffney said on 'GMTV': "I'm the first to say that Marc was silly to flirt with Cerys in front of 10 million viewers and his partner, but the thing we all love about Marc is that he's very tactile."

"He was kissing Rodney Marsh on the lips two days ago - that's just Marc," he said.

Speaking about Marc's girlfriend, he said: "She's obviously been humiliated, she feels, in front of family and friends and the general public."

"I've been fortunate to be out with Sarah and Marc at a function together and they're very much in love. They are very touchy-feely and very close," Gaffney said.

"So I think it's just being in the jungle, it's a mad experience and you can't explain it unless you've been there."

Gaffney also said that he advised Bannerman to do the show when the actor asked for his advice.

"Marc rang me up and said, 'Do you think I should do it?', and I said, 'It's not even an issue, Marc, you have to do it. You're out of work, haven't really been on telly much since 'EastEnders'. It'll keep the wolf from the door."

Source: RTE