The Happy Mondays’ Bez has been kicked off ‘Bargain Hunt’ for cheating.
The 54-year-old star – whose real name is Mark Berry – was disqualified from the celebrity edition of the show after his girlfriend Firouzeh Razavi bid on his team’s items at auction, but he says it was an "honest error".
Bez insisted that he had asked her to bid on a 100-piece tea set which had nothing to do with the show.
He told the Daily Mirror: "I said, ‘I want this, this is ours’. And she thought I meant. ‘Go get a ticket and bid on our things’. She completely misunderstood."
And he claims he was shocked when she bid on his team’s horseshow mirror and record player.
He said: "I couldn’t believe it. I was sat there thinking, ‘Oh my God, she’s bought me mirror’. But it was an honest error – we never meant to cheat. It was embarrassing having to hand over our title. I’ve ended up with all the old junk we bought."
However, there was some good news for Bez as he managed to keep the £8 profit his team made after TV producers failed to ask for it back.
Meanwhile, percussionist and dancer Bez – known for his exuberant dance moves on stage with the Happy Mondays, fronted by his friend Shaun Ryder – has previously spoke about his wild past and insisted he has reformed.
He and his bandmates had a reputation for being one of the hardest partying bands of all time and no substance was off limits from ecstasy tablets to LSD to heroin to crack cocaine but he has turned his back on illegal substances and now will only get high on pure drugs.
He said: "I’ve not actually stopped taking drugs, but only if they’re organic will they get into my system now."