It has been well reported that Mark Wright sensationally quit an upcoming ITV show via text message – but now it is claimed he only did it in order to spend more time with his wife, Michelle Keegan.
The 35-year-old reality star was due to be a presenter on upcoming The Real Games but allegedly quit the show last month at the eleventh hour via text message, although Mark himself has denied he quit via text.
The stunt was said to have infuriated show bosses who had to not only find a last minute replacement, but were also forced to edit footage already filmed to cut the ex-TOWIE star out of shots.
Mark has been married to 34-year-old actress Michelle since 2015 but both of their careers have taken off in the subsequent years – with Mark spending time in the USA to be a presenter on popular entertainment talk show Extra and Michelle appearing in TV hits including the biopic drama Tina and Bobby and the Sky comedy Brassic.
But now it is claimed Mark pulled out of his latest ITV project at the last minute in order to spend more time with Michelle – but he fears his plan has backfired as reports have suggested the network have now blacklisted mark from future projects.
A source told Closer magazine: “Working together has been something Michelle and Mark have been talking about for a long time and after agreeing to do The Real Games, Mark realised it could be a big mistake given he’d be cementing his image as a ‘reality star’ rather than detaching himself from that world.
“That’s something he wants to keep in the past so he can carve out his new career path with Michelle as a power couple.
“He and Michelle have also spent long chunks of time apart during their marriage, so he also turned it down to spend as much time as possible with her."
The insider added that Mark knew the situation wasn't ideal, but felt it was better to pull out when he did than weeks down the line, and that after talking to Michelle, he knew he had to make the decision that was right for him.
They added: “Mark’s made a sacrifice to spend more time with Michelle and to work on their new career, but that decision has backfired if ITV really has blacklisted him.”
The Mirror has contacted Mark's spokesperson for comment – while a source close to Michelle has hit out at Closer's suggestion that the former Corrie star encouraged Mark to quit his show to say the claim is "totally false".
Meanwhile, Mark himself previously downplayed reports he had quit The Real Games via text message and that he had been blacklisted by ITV.
Taking to Instagram last week, Mark wrote: "Refrained from commenting on this nonsense story for over a week because it's nonsense and there's plenty much more important stories to worry about in the world.
"Because it's constantly being repeated, here's my comment. I'm absolutely not banned from ITV, in fact I'm doing a show for ITV three months from now.
"The show that 'I quit' hadn't even signed a contract for!
"I 'called' the producer not text to tell her I'd had a change of heart on the show because I realised I'd had too many other commitments already to make it work.”
He added: "The media outlet who wrote this are not to blame. They can only believe what the person who is making this up is telling them."
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct at 0207 29 33033.
