Shoplifting TV chef says media went over the top

Published on Monday 16 January 2012 00:00

Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson said he would rather have gone to prison than endure the public fall-out following his arrest for shoplifting.

The Ready Steady Cook star said he felt he had been put in the “modern day stocks” by some, but that he had been overwhelmed by messages of support from thousands of well wishers.

The former I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! contestant was cautioned by police after he was caught stealing from the Tesco store in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, while using a self-scanning till last Friday.

The 60-year-old gave his first interview since the incident on Irish television while on a visit to Dublin.

“I’m in a bad place obviously,” he siad.

“I’m very embarrassed, very ashamed, I put my hands up to it, I did it, which is inexplicable.”

He added: “It’s something that I’ve got to get to the bottom of and I’m having counselling.

“I reckon I’m usually a pretty good guy, I do a lot for charity, a lot of helping other people and I don’t know what on earth made me do that, it’s just extraordinary.”

Mr Worrall Thompson said thousands of people had logged on to his website to give their support but contrasted that to his treatment by some sections of the media.

“What I’ve suffered this week is worse than doing a prison sentence,” he claimed.

“I would rather have been fined or gone to prison because the Press have been extraordinary.

“It’s just been beyond any relationship to the crime.”

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South Wales Scot

Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 10:55 AM

Q. Why did the chicken cross the road?....................................................... A. Because it was in Anthony Worrall Thompson's pocket.

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Binzo

Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 04:31 PM

I think the clue is in the content of the story. 'The former I’m A Celebrity... Get Me out of Here contestant' These Celebrities go to extraordinary lengths to keep in the public eye and earn a few extra quid when times 'Get hard' Well I'm afraid one of the pitfalls of that is that if you cross a certain behaviour line......the publicity machine that has kept you in the limelight will swing into action to make sure we are all made aware of your transgression. I'm afraid you've made your bed mate, now you have to lie in it!!

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