Coronation Street star Simon Gregson says he can't remember defending Dominic Cummings in a series of sweary tweets.
The actor, who plays Steve McDonald in the ITV soap, was met with backlash from his followers and key workers, including NHS staff fighting coronavirus on the frontline, when he spoke up for the Prime Minister's chief adviser.
Cummings faced backlash after travelling from his home to see his family in County Durham despite his instructions for citizens to stay at home.
He has denied breaking the rules of the lockdown, saying he acted "reasonably and legally".
And Simon appeared to agree with him when he lashed out on Twitter.
Simon seemed to suggest that he would have done exactly the same thing if he were in that position, and lashed out at the press for covering the story.
He posted: "This discussion gives me the s**ts. Family first ALWAYS. Regardless.
"People have crawled through s**t , gun fire, climbing over dead friends to be with. Put your bullst away dick Ed’s [heads] coz you’d do the same. Plus back off press 2 Mtrs k**b sucks."
Many of Simon's followers were outraged by his comments, and branded him a "disgrace".
One asked him: "assume you won’t be clapping for the NHS again? Saying it’s okay to travel anywhere with Covid19 symptoms is slapping the NHS in the face."
Another wrote: "I lost my wonderful brother in law and he was just 10 miles away & I couldn’t see him. HOW DARE YOU INFER I DIDN’T GIVE A S**T ABOUT HIM."
Simon later went back on what he'd said, posting: "Ok I take it back to understand that we could all ways do that.
"So I hold my hands up and say. BD choice of words. But. Wouldn’t you? Fine line people. Let’s not be told but imagine."
Simon has now deleted all of the tweets, and insisted that he was drunk when he wrote them.
He said he has no memory of posting the tweets, writing: "Well sober me has no idea what drunk me was going on about. Time to maybe step away from the phone".
When the lockdown first began, Simon had offered to give his car and motorbike to NHS workers who are struggling to travel to work.
