BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Nick Knowles dumped soap star ex 'like ton of bricks' over photo

Gemma Oaten, a former ITV Emmerdale star, spoke out as Nick competes on BBC Strictly Come Dancing with pro partner Luba Mushtuk.

Nick Knowles' soap star ex-girlfriend has accused him of "dropping her like a stone" when a picture emerged. Gemma Oaten, a former ITV Emmerdale star, spoke out as Nick competes on BBC Strictly Come Dancing with pro partner Luba Mushtuk.

When pictures emerged of Gemma and Nick looking cosy in the press, the soap star - who says they got together following the breakdown of Nick's marriage - accuses the ITV I'm A Celebrity star of undergoing a personality shift.

Gemma says, while in bed with Nick, they were messaged by friends and family after the photos were published online and in the newspapers. “One Sunday morning we were lying in bed and all these texts came through about us being photographed together,” she told The Mirror.

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“In an instant, he completely changed. It was all about him and how it was going to affect his family. It was really cruel as he said it didn’t matter for me. I felt sick.” Gemma said: "He just dropped me like a ton of bricks. I thought it was a real relationship and he wasn’t afraid to let others know.”

Gemma told the Sunday Mirror: "I wish I'd never met Nick as it's haunted me ever since. He is quite similar to Scott, they are both very egotistical men. It was impossible to be with them." She added: "My name seems to get dragged through the mud a lot in relationships and it always seems to be the woman that gets tarnished with that awful brush."

Nick had wooed Gemma after the pair met at the TV Choice Awards in the UK that September - and then later took her out to dinner. Nick ended up returning to his estranged wife Jessica Knowles as she battled cervical cancer, but they split once again.