Richard Blackwood gave Mariah Carey the brush off in the early 00s after she invited him to her dressing room.
The former ‘EastEnders’ star was presenting ‘Top of the Pops’ – which he co-hosted from 2000 to 2001 – when the 48-year-old star personally asked him to accompany her to an after-party following her performance on the music show, but he declined because his partner at the time was such a huge Mariah fan.
He said: "Years ago I was hosting ‘Top of the Pops’ and Mariah Carey was here. She had finished performing and this guy came up to me and went, ‘Yo man, Mariah wants to meet you, come on.’
"I didn’t even know who he was talking about at first and he was like, ‘Mariah wants to meet you, come on, man.’
"I realised we were walking to her dressing room, and I went into her dressing room, and she was like, ‘Hi,’ and I was like, ‘OK, he’s left, it’s just me and you.’
"She was like, ‘So, I’m having a party and I would like you to come.’ I was like, ‘OK.’ I knew what was going on here but at the time I was going out with somebody who was very dear to me, who was a Mariah Carey fan.
"I mean I wasn’t the best guy back then, infidelity, I didn’t really adhere to that back then, I was a different person.
"But I just knew there was no way I could do anything with this woman knowing my partner is …
"So I looked at her and she’s like, ‘So, you coming to my party?’ And the devil is going, ‘Go, go, go.’ And the angel is going, ‘You can’t do that.’
"Basically, I said, ‘My girlfriend is a big fan,’ and she looked at me and said, ‘Girlfriend?’
"I said, ‘Yes, could you speak to her?’ I called her … I did the right thing. My girlfriend at the time was screaming, ‘Aah.’ And Mariah was like, ‘Hi.’ "
But Mariah wasn’t best pleased upon being asked to speak to the 45-year-old star’s then-girlfriend, and he claims she didn’t look him in the eye after the call, simply asking him to leave her personal space.
Speaking on ‘This Morning’, he added: "She never looked at me again, she went, ‘Anyway, you can leave.’ "