Celebrity Big Brother winner Paddy Doherty has challenged The Only Way Is Essex star Mark Wright to a boxing match, calling him 'cocky and arrogant' and vowing to knock him out in the first round. The 67-year-old Irish TV personality made the comments in a new interview, recalling a brief encounter with Wright at the 2011 Bafta awards.
Bad blood from a Bafta encounter
Doherty and Wright crossed paths at the Baftas in 2011, when Doherty was starring in the reality show Big Fat Gypsys Wedding and Wright was at the peak of his Towie fame. Doherty claims Wright gave him a dismissive look. 'I met him at the awards, at the Baftas. He wasn't rude to me I wouldn't let him be, not in a million years, but he had that look, like "look at me". You get it on, I'll do it!' Doherty recalled.
That same year, Doherty won his series of Celebrity Big Brother, while Wright exited Towie. Now, 15 years later, Doherty says the bad impression has festered into a desire to fight. 'I would love to fight Mark Wright; he's cocky, arrogant, above himself, I'd love me and him in the ring,' Doherty told The Sun. 'I'm a lot older than him but I guarantee I'd knock him out in the first round.'
One-sided feud?
Wright, who is also a professional boxer, has never publicly mentioned Doherty. He has been busy with fatherhood after his wife, Michelle Keegan, gave birth to their daughter Palma in March 2025. On his Heart FM radio show, Wright described fatherhood as 'the biggest achievement of my life' and praised his wife as 'a superhero'.
Doherty also mentioned he would like to fight former model Calum Best, with whom he starred in the 2012 reality series Celebrity Bainisteoir. Metro has reached out to Wright's representatives for comment.
