Louis Walsh shocks fans by critiquing Cheryl's handling of infamous 2003 assault on toilet attendant, questioning her preparation and PR skills: 'No celebrity is off limits'

Celebrity Big Brother fans were left in shock on Tuesday night, as Louis Walsh confirmed Cheryl’s infamous assault of a toilet attendant.

The former X Factor judge, 71, has had a long-standing feud with the singer, 40, since he managed Girls Aloud from 2002 to 2004.

During that time, Cheryl hit the headlines in 2003 for assaulting Sophie Amogbokpa in the toilets of the Drink nightclub in Guildford.

She was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, but cleared of racially aggravated assault and was ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid community service.

She was also ordered to pay Sophie £500 compensation and prosecution costs of £3,000.

Celebrity Big Brother fans were left in shock on Tuesday night, as Louis Walsh confirmed Cheryl’s infamous assault of a toilet attendant

The former X Factor judge, 71, has had a long-standing feud with the singer, 40, since he managed Girls Aloud from 2002 to 2004 (pictured together in 2010)

During that time, Cheryl hit the headlines in 2003 for assaulting Sophie Amogbokpa in the toilets of the Drink nightclub in Guildford (Sophie pictured)

Despite the shame, Cheryl’s career continued to progress and went from strength to strength.

On the latest episode of Celebrity Big Brother, Zeze Mills brought up the incident in conversation with Louis and Marisha Wallace.

Marisha was shocked after hearing about the case for the first time, while Louis whispered: ‘It’s true’ and added that he was Cheryl’s manager at the time.

Marisha then asked if Cheryl had been drunk during the altercation, and Louis shook his head and said: ‘She was unprepared’.

As Zeze recounted the details and how big a scandal it had been, Marisha commented that Cheryl’s career had survived the incident.

Louis then said: ‘Well she had great PR… they looked after her.’

Viewers were taken aback by the comments, with many commenting that Louis was continuing to ‘throw everyone he’s ever known under the bus’.

One person wrote: ‘Is there anyone louis won’t talk bad about, his rep is gone’ as another added: ‘Not Louis throwing chezza under the bus’.

She was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, but cleared of racially aggravated assault and was ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid community service and a fine

On the latest episode of Celebrity Big Brother, Zeze Mills brought up the incident in conversation with Louis and Marisha Wallace

Marisha then asked if Cheryl had been drunk during the altercation, and Louis shook his head and said: ‘She was unprepared’

A third tweeted: ‘I love this season. They’re not afraid to address ANYTHING. More of this in future series’ while a fourth said: ‘I was not ready for this Cheryl discourse tonight’.

Another echoed: ‘Louis Walsh just loves the spill the tea!! Very Irish of him!! We love a gossip!’ while a sixth penned: ‘I want more scandalous Celeb gossip and less ridiculous twists!’

And a seventh wrote: ‘As if they’re all sat around talking about Cheryl hitting the toilet attendant feel like I’ve been transported back to early 2003’.

While others predicted that Cheryl would be taking her revenge, with some quipping she would be joining Gemma Collins and Jedward, who have been putting Louis on blast on social media.

One person said: ‘Cheryl, get your lawyers on standby. We storm that house at dawn’ and a second echoed: ‘i wonder how many celebs are going to try and sue louis after he leaves the house’.

A third wrote: ‘Cheryl’s about to be seen fuming in a hot tub with Gemma Collins and Jedward’ while a fourth agreed: ‘Cheryl is on her way to Gemma Collins house as we speak’.

Another joked: ‘Cheryl at the Big Brother doors ready to give Louis a black eye’ and a sixth added: ‘Cheryl watching like yeah thanks for bringing that up’.

And someone else asked: ‘why louis walsh always at the scene of the crime what do u mean you where cheryl cole’s manager during the incident’.

Marisha commented that Cheryl’s career had survived the incident. Louis then said: ‘Well she had great PR… they looked after her’

Viewers were taken aback by the comments, with many commenting that Louis was continuing to ‘throw everyone he’s ever known under the bus’

Cheryl – who was 19 at the time – punched Sophie after she tried to stop the singer taking some lollipops.

She wrote about the incident in her 2012 autobiography Cheryl: My Story, and claimed she was acting in self-defence.

In 2019 it was reported that she was seeking to prevent the media from reporting her conviction – despite writing about it in her autobiography.

It was understood her lawyers argued that any mention of the crime, the subsequent trial, her conviction or sentence was a breach of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

The law is intended to ensure that those convicted of minor offences are not disproportionately penalised through references made to the crime many years later.

But media lawyers and freedom of speech campaigners criticised its attempted use by Cheryl and warned of the risks of setting a precedent that could be used by the rich and famous to airbrush their criminal past.

Later in Tuesday’s show, Louis threw shade at Cheryl again, as he called her ‘smug’ during their time on The X Factor judging panel.

He recounted how Simon Cowell had secured Beyonce to sing with Cheryl’s winning act Alexandra Burke in the final in 2008, when had booked Westlife for his act, JLS.

While others predicted that Cheryl would be taking her revenge, with some quipping she would be joining Gemma Collins and Jedward, who have been putting Louis on blast on social media

Later in Tuesday’s show, Louis threw shade at Cheryl again, as he called her ‘smug’ during their time on The X Factor judging panel (pictured)

He recounted how Simon Cowell had secured Beyonce to sing with Cheryl’s winning act Alexandra Burke in the final in 2008, when had booked Westlife for his act, JLS

When David Potts then asked Louis if Cheryl is nice, Louis gave a backhanded compliment, saying: ‘She’s not perfect but she’s nice’

He said: ‘Cheryl was, she was kinda smug with me, I wanted to beat her as well.’

When David Potts then asked Louis if Cheryl is nice, Louis gave a backhanded compliment.

He said: ‘Yeah, she is. She’s not perfect but she’s nice. She’s a good girl, she’s good. She’s had a lot of negativity but I like her. She doesn’t know that, I like her more than she likes me.’

Girls Aloud had Louis as their manager when they were put together on ITV talent show, Popstars: The Rivals.

Louis soon made it clear, in his trademark outspoken style, that he would rather have been teamed up with another all-male group.

Some years later, when Cheryl was reunited with Louis on The X Factor, he compared her to a peacock, accusing her of believing the ITV series was ‘her show’ and even taunted her on-air about looking ‘orange’.

Only last year, Louis had another go at her, claiming that she ‘lip-syncs’ rather than singing when performing live and would not win The X Factor if she was a contestant.

Cheryl previously hit back saying: ‘Louis is a silly old man looking for attention’ and claimed that businessman only ‘took the cheques’ while managing Girls Aloud.

Louis responded by saying: ‘I am a much better manager than she is a singer.’