Love Island star Kyle Ashman speaks for the first time since being axed from the line-up after machete attack arrest
Kyle Ashman spoke out for the first time since being axed from the Love Island line-up on Wednesday.
The dating show hopeful, 23, was involved in a machete attack in February when masked thugs stormed a wake and hacked at a dad with a blade. Kyle was arrested but released with no further action.
He has now shared his side of the story, explaining his innocence and hopes to be able to have a chance on the show in the future.
Speaking in a video shared to Instagram, Kyle said: 'I'm sure you have seen the news circulating. I'm innocent, there was no further action taken.
'I'm not a bad guy. I'm a normal guy from a normal place. An opportunity arose to find love, I grabbed it with both hands and it's been taken away from me.
From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop.
Kyle added: 'I have seen the support pages and who knows, maybe I'll get a chance to go on Casa Amor, or as a bombshell, get back in and show you who I really am.
'Show you that I am not a bad guy... we'll see.'
He captioned the clip: 'Just wanted to share my side.'
ITV declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline.
Kyle was one of two arrested by police but he was released with no further action.
Following the reports, Kyle has confirmed he had no involvement in the incident, but has chosen to leave the ITV show regardless.
He told MailOnline: 'I fully cooperated with this police investigation and made it very clear that I had no involvement in this incident.
'I am not a violent person and any suggestion otherwise is a mischaracterisation.'
Meanwhile ITV added: 'For personal reasons, Kyle will not be entering the Love Island Villa as planned.'
The Love Island line-up was announced on Tuesday so Kyle's departure will have plunged the show into chaos ahead of Monday's launch episode.
The Sun have revealed they alerted bosses on Kyle being questioned in the attack but ITV said they were unaware of the incident and he was not flagged during the contestant checks.
The incident on February 28 saw the victim, 38, nearly lose his arm after he was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment and kept it for around two weeks.
Another mourner was reportedly glassed, one hit with a metal pole, and two people were run over by a car during the 15 minute attack at the The White Eagle Club in Stafford.
Sources said the victim was attacked by three balaclava-clad thugs over an alleged £3,000 debt.
He was injured by a blade that left him with a deep gash and has suffered tendon damage and is now unable to drive.
Police confirmed yesterday that after the matter had been investigated Kyle and another individual were released with no further action only last month.
A show source told the publication: 'ITV were entirely unaware of Kyle's past and, as he was not charged, it was not flagged as part of Love Island's stringent DBS checks.
'It's only right he can now return home to the UK to share his side of the story and therefore bosses took the decision that it was best for him not to enter the villa.'
Staffordshire Police said on Monday: 'A 22-year-old man, from Stafford, was arrested on suspicion of wounding and affray. Another man, also 22 and from Stafford, was arrested on suspicion of affray.
'Both were questioned in custody and bailed with conditions while our enquiries continue.'
Kyle, who works as a water operative, doesn't have a strong social media presence with just one Insta pic on his profile.
Prior to his announced departure, Kyle said he was looking for 'someone that's fun, confident and just themselves'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Guardian
23 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Sue Cleaver reflects on '25 years of laughs' after Coronation Street exit
Eileen Grimshaw had a special send-off during Friday's episode of the soap, where she was seen leaving for Thailand alongside her son Jason Grimshaw, played by Ryan Thomas. Simon Gregson's character Steve McDonald, Tony Maudsley's George Shuttleworth, and Eileen's son Todd, played by Gareth Pierce, all said goodbye to the matriarch before drivers from the local taxi firm honked their horns as she was driven off. In an Instagram post, Cleaver said: 'Well… that's a wrap. 25 years of laughs, tears, costumes, chaos — and one unforgettable journey. A post shared by Sue Cleaver (@officialsuecleaver) 'I'll miss this character like crazy, but what a ride it's been. Thank you for every moment.' Cleaver has played the outspoken and uncomplicated Eileen in the ITV show since 2000. Eileen came to Weatherfield to work at the local taxi firm, Streetcars, to provide for her two tearaway teenage children, Jason and Todd. She soon became friends with her boss Steve and came into conflict with Helen Worth's character Gail Rodwell (also known as Gail Platt). Cleaver took part in I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2022, where she opened up about reconciling with her birth mother, and was eliminated third. She also said her family is 'bizarrely interconnected' to other Coronation Street stars, including Worth who is godmother to one of her half-sisters, while her other half-sister's husband, John Bowe, appeared on the cobbles as Duggie Ferguson. In 2024, she released a book A Work In Progress in which she discusses how she feels she is not past her prime. In recent years she has appeared as a panellist on ITV chat show Loose Women.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Trans lobby groups 'lied for years' that anyone self identifying as a different gender could access women's' toilets, equality chief says
Transgender people were misled about their rights to female only spaces by lobby groups, according to a senior member of an equality watchdog has said. In April a Supreme Court ruling confirmed the terms woman and sex in the 2010 Equality Act 'refer to a biological woman and biological sex'. Akua Reindorf, a barrister who is one of eight commissioners at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), said trans people had been deceived about their rights were. Speaking in a personal capacity during a debate about the recent ruling, she said there must be a 'period of correction' to acknowledge women's right to women-only spaces. The decision made it legal for trans people to be banned from women-only sports teams, and from using bathrooms and changing rooms for the gender they lived as. These terms were later supported by interim non-statutory advice given by the EHRC last April. When an audience member at the debate raised fears about the recent Supreme Court ruling and how it could strip away trans peoples rights, barrister and panellist, Naomi Cunningham said: 'It can't be helped, I'm afraid.' In agreement with her fellow panellist, Ms Reindorf said she believed trans lobbyists were at faults for the misunderstanding. 'Unfortunately, young people and trans people have been lied to over many years about what their rights are,' she said. 'It's like Naomi said – I just can't say it in a more diplomatic way than that. They have been lied to, and there has to be a period of correction, because other people have rights' She claimed it boiled down to the law prior to the Supreme Court ruling being misunderstood due to groups contending trans people who self-identified should be treated as their preferred gender. However, this was only the case for the those who had obtained a gender recognition certificate (GRC). The barrister said the amalgamation of different rights made the Equality Act nonviable from a personal capacity. 'The catalyst for many to catch up, belatedly, with the fact that the law never permitted self-ID in the first place,' she said. As such, the feeling of a loss of right of trans people was due to an overwhelming product of 'misinformation' perpetrated by 'lobby group and activists'. Author JK Rowling backed the barrister's recent comments, saying lobby groups lied 'about what the law said'.' However, the head of gender justice at Amnesty International UK, Chiara Capraro, hit back Ms Reindorf's comments. She said: 'The EHRC has the duty to uphold the rights of everyone, including all with protected characteristics. We are concerned that it is failing to do so and is unhelpfully pitting the rights of women and trans people against each other.' A spokesman for the EHRC told The Guardian: 'Akua Reindorf KC spoke at this event in a personal capacity. This was made clear at the event and in the video recording published online. 'As Britain's equality regulator, the Equality and Human Rights Commission upholds and enforces the Equality Act 2010 to ensure everyone is treated fairly, consistent with the Act. 'Our board come from all walks of life and bring with them a breadth of skills and experience. This helps us take impartial decisions, which are always based on evidence and the law.'
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
EuroMillions: UK's biggest lottery prize is still up for grabs
There is still the chance for someone to secure the biggest lottery prize the UK has ever seen, after Friday's EuroMillions draw had no winners. The jackpot had rolled over to an estimated £208m, after Tuesday's £199m draw - which also would have been a record-breaking amount - had no winners. The winner would instantly become richer than Adele and Harry Styles, while also bagging the top spot on the National Lottery's biggest wins list. Housing raffles take UK by storm - how likely are you to win? Andy Carter, senior winners' adviser at Allwyn, said: "The EuroMillions jackpot is now capped, so any money that would have gone into increasing the jackpot now boosts prizes in the next winning prize tier. "We could see multiple UK players banking huge prizes for matching just the five main numbers and one Lucky Star." The previous largest prize pot was won by an anonymous UK ticket-holder, who took home £195m on 19 July 2022. Just two months earlier, Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucester, won £184,262,899 with a Lucky Dip ticket. At the time, Joe was a communications sales engineer, and Jess ran a hairdressing salon with her sister. Mr Thwaite said he woke up at 5am as usual, and checked his phone to see an email saying, "Good news, you have won a prize". But he did not immediately wake his wife, choosing to let her sleep in. "I saw how much and I didn't know what to do," Mr Thwaite said. "I couldn't go back to sleep, I didn't want to wake Jess up, so I just laid there for what seemed like forever. I spent some time searching for property with no budget limit, which was a novelty!" When his wife woke up, she assumed the National Lottery app was wrong. 1:24 In February last year, Richard and Debbie Nuttall were revealed as the UK winners of a £61m EuroMillions jackpot - who at first thought they had only won £2.60. The couple from Lancashire split the £123m prize with a winner in Spain.
