Peter Andre has pointed the finger at his best mate for the coronavirus sign prank that ordered fans not to touch him.
He hosted an event in Southampton on Saturday called An Evening With Peter Andre, where posters were put up warning fans not to hug him or take selfies with him over coronavirus fears .
The singer later denied he ordered the warnings to be plastered across the venue and has now blamed one of his pals for masterminding the wind-up.
He wrote in New magazine: "While I can only hope the spread [of coronavirus] is contained, I don't think I've ever felt more embarrassed as I did when I found out I was trending on the BBC's coronavirus live feed last week!
"I honestly thought the whole thing was a wind-up, because my friend Carl often tries to stitch me up on tour."
He added: "Anyway, please know I was mortified that people thought I had something to do with it."
After hearing of the prank, Peter rushed to Instagram explain himself and insisted he was happily hugging fans.
"Ok this must be a wind up because I hugged Everyone I met," he wrote.
"People were saying to me that they had been told not to touch me and that there were signs.
"I thought they were joking. Brilliant. I am now officially a diva without being a diva."
He concluded the post joking: "On a serious note though don’t touch me".
The signs read: “Due to the recent cases of the coronavirus please DO NOT have any physical contact with Peter Andre.
“Please DO NOT take any selfies with Peter Andre. Apologies for any inconvenience. Thank you."
The coronavirus warnings at the event came after Peter voiced his fears that his wife Emily MacDonagh could catch the deadly illness.
Last month The Mysterious Girl singer, 46, said he started worrying about Emily, who is a doctor, when he went to the airport and saw customs officers wearing masks.
Writing in his magazine column, he said: "Obviously Emily being a doctor brings it close to home for me and, of course, I'm worried about her. But I'm also proud of her doing her job."
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