Shane Richie has hit out at the "faceless management" of Thomas Cook, after calling the company’s collapse "karma".
The ‘EastEnders’ actor took aim at the organisation – who he slammed in June following a "holiday from hell" – after it was announced earlier today (23.09.19) they have gone bust, and he has now clarified his comment after coming under fire from several Twitter users.
In a message, which has now been deleted, he tweeted the Thomas Cook News account saying: "Karma"
Several fans hit out at Shane – who plays Alfie Moon in the BBC One soap – following the comment, but he later apologised and insisted he had "admiration" for the shop and ground staff who have lost their jobs following the company’s collapse.
He tweeted: "My comment was a dig at faceless management and not the thousands of employees who are sadly losing their jobs due to mismanagement . My thoughts are with the shop/ground staff who I’ve only admiration for ..there the ones who suffer today ..apologies if it read any other way xx (sic)"
In June, Shane hit out at Thomas Cook after a trip to Mexico, describing it as his "worst nightmare".
He said at the time: "It was a holiday from hell. I was recommended the five-star resort. It cost thousands. It was supposed to be a holiday of a lifetime. I was taking my in-laws for 17 nights. It was my worst nightmare. It was f***ing horrendous. I got spanked by them.
"At just 10.30am in the morning we were all sat by the luxury pool and there was a DJ on with drum and bass.
"They didn’t mention that in the programme when we were booking it. Loads of things happened."
A Thomas Cook spokesman said at the time: "We always want our customers to enjoy their holidays so we’re disappointed Mr Richie didn’t like the hotel he asked us to book for him.
"We did everything we could to help in resort, including complimentary upgrades and an offer to move to the premium hotel next door.
"Given the circumstances we can’t justify a full refund so sadly this has become a legal issue."