Sam Thompson addresses emotional paparazzi photos

Sam Thompson has explained why he looked so emotional in paparazzi photos from the TRIC Awards.

During the TRIC Awards last Tuesday, the reality TV star was photographed being consoled by his best friend Pete Wicks as they smoked outside London's Grosvenor House Hotel. In the snaps, Sam looked upset as he buried his head into Pete's shoulder.

Addressing the images on their shared podcast, Staying Relevant, on Monday, the former Made in Chelsea star admitted he had received some bad news during the awards ceremony.

"I wasn't crying, I wasn't actually crying. I just want everyone to know that now," he stated. "There's no way of getting around it, actually I had received pretty bad news so I was really sad, I'm not gonna lie about it, I was. I got it from the awards ceremony so Pete then took me outside."

Pete explained that they went to an area where they thought they could chat privately, so they were shocked to discover photos of the emotional moment online the next day.

"I let it go, I let it all out," Sam continued. "I'm headbutting Pete's shoulder, I'm literally caressed into his armpit and he's literally being such a good mate, he's like, 'Mate, I'm always there for you blah blah blah.' I was feeling very sorry for myself. I'm like, well at least nobody's going to see this. Little do we know, the next day it's everywhere."

The I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! winner, who did not divulge his sad news, then thanked everyone who reached out to him privately to see if he was OK.

"Everyone was so nice... all of our listeners have been really f**king lovely and I really do appreciate it," he said. "So without tearing up, I really appreciate it. Thank you very much. Everything's good now but it was a tough old time."