I’m disappointed in you’: Ryan Giggs’s estranged father breaks 20 year silence on son’s affair (despite walking out on his own family)

By Richard Hartley-parkinson


Ryan Giggs pictured as a boy with his father, Danny Wilson, who said he was disappointed in his son


Despite walking out on his own family 20 years ago, Ryan Giggs's father broke his silence to say how disappointed he is with his son over his affair with Imogen Thomas.

Danny Wilson, 55, spoke out about the relationship - the first time he has spoken publicly about his son after refusing to do so to protect his Manchester united career.

Mr Wilson said: 'Ryan is looked upon as clean living, almost beyond reproach. Now he's shown to have human frailties the same as the rest of us.


'I didn't think Ryan was like that,' he told the Sun. 'He is an iconic footballer who has achieved fantastic things. I had him on a pedestal. I'm immensely proud.

'But I am deeply disappointed at what Ryan has done, particularly as he has a young family. I'm sad for the effect it's going to have on them. His mother will be devastated.'

Following a difficult start to life, Giggs's fortunes were turned around thanks to the support and leadership of his manager, Sir Alex Ferguson

Speaking about his son's affair broke a 20 year silence in which Mr Wilson has never spoken about Giggs


When Mr Wilson, an ex-rugby league star, walked out on his family, Giggs disowned him and adopted his mother's surname.

Although he insists the split was not because of another woman, Mr Wilson was regarded as a womaniser whose career was curtailed by heavy drinking and crime, including a six-month jail stretch for attacking a police officer.

Thankfully for Giggs, Sir Alex became a father figure in his life and gave him direction. He even sees his father, but admits that things will never be the same again.

Mr Wilson, whose parents are from Sierra Leone and is now a security guard, said Giggs should have 'manned up', admitted the affair and apologised for it right from the start.

He also thinks the decision to take out an injunction was a bad one and he was badly advised.

If he had come clean from the beginning, Mr Wilson said, 'no one would be talking about it now. He's made it ten times worse.

'I'd be surprised if Sir Alex Ferguson told him to take out the injunction - it was probably other people around Ryan.'

Speaking two years ago about his relationship with his father, Giggs said: 'Everyone's childhood shapes who they are and what they do, and it was two sides of the story with my dad.

'I didn't like the relationship he had with my mum but there was another side where I looked up to him. My dad was my first hero.

'I think my parent's split may have contributed to that inner steel where I can block things out.

'When I was playing football, I never thought about the arguments between my mum and dad. I get on with my dad but I’m not going to let myself get close to him again because it would hurt my mum and people who mean a lot to me.’

Stacey Giggs was photographed arriving at Old Trafford for a family day at the weekend but yesterday she was seen without her wedding ring


source:dailymail

Party's over, Ryan: Giggs leads title celebrations with his family... 24 hours later his extra-marital affair is exposed

By Daily Mail Reporter


Father's pride: Giggs enjoys his record-breaking run with his two children, Zach and Libby as Manchester United celebrated its 12th Premier League win


Less than 24 hours after celebrating the Premier League title Ryan Giggs was back in the headlines.

He was finally named as the man who had tried to cover up an illicit affair with Imogen Thomas - in what had become the internet's worst-kept secret.

After his side were presented with the Premier League trophy at Old Trafford yesterday, the 37-year-old led the onfield celebrations with his two children, Zach and Libby.

But this afternoon his reputation as a family man was rocked when he was finally outed as the high-profile player who had used the courts to keep details of his extra-marital affair a secret.


The revelation - made in Parliament by John Hemmings - will come as a relief to Miss Thomas, who broke down in tears on television over the affair.

The pair allegedly enjoyed a six-month fling, meeting in secret at a string of luxury hotels, it was claimed.

At the time the gagging order was granted, Giggs' agent described the revelations as a shock, saying: ‘This is incredible. I can’t believe it. He is such a family man.

‘I don’t know what to say, knowing the closeness of his family.’

Last month the 28-year-old former Big Brother contestant broke down as she told ITV's This Morning of her regret that she didn't have enough money to get a super-injunction to protect her name.

Struggling to control her emotions, Miss Thomas said: 'I had no intention of ever speaking about the man - I just wish that my name was protected. I didn't have £50,000 to get an injunction.

'I feel like I have been thrown to the lions and told to "deal with it".

Ryan Gigg's wife, Stacey Cooke, laughs during the family celebrations at Old Trafford. Left Imogen Thomas leaving her house in North London


'I'm coping with a lot of stress and pressure on my head at the moment, it has such a terrible experience for me. I've done wrong and I'm paying for it.'

Asked whether she had ever planned to 'sell her story' before she found out about the super-injunction which was granted earlier in April, Miss Thomas tearfully replied: 'I would never have said anything.

'I had no intention of selling my story whatsoever, no intention at all.'

Miss Thomas also had to face allegations from Giggs that she attempted to blackmail him over their affair.

She was said to be furious that he had suggested she demanded money to keep their affair quiet.

Speaking after one High Court hearing, she said: ‘I have read the judgement and I am stunned by how I’m portrayed.

United front: Ryan Giggs with his wife Stacey Cooke arrive at Manchester United's 2011 Player of the Year Awards last Wednesday


'Yet again my name and my reputation are being trashed while the man I had a relationship with is able to hide.

‘What’s more, I can’t even defend myself because I have been gagged. Where’s the fairness in that? What about my reputation?

‘If this is the way privacy injunctions are supposed to work then there’s something seriously wrong with the law.’

After breaking into the Manchester United team in the 1991/92 season Giggs became one of the most respected players in the game.

He made his debut aged 17 as a substitute against Everton, and two months later scored the winner against Manchester City at Old Trafford on his full debut.

Nineteen years on and he is considered by many to be the 'golden boy' of football and it was all smiles for him and his two children on the pitch as they celebrated his record-breaking run.

Throughout his career he has made the most Premier League appearances and is the only one to have scored in all the campaigns since it was created.

In 2007 he was awarded the OBE and it was commented then that the award would no doubt have taken into account his charity work, aiding the campaign to rid football of racism, plus his role as a Unicef representative working to eliminate the use of land mines.

In September that year he married long-time partner Stacey Cooke in a ceremony attended by close relatives and friends. The couple's children, Liberty and Zach, were part of the congregation.

Speaking after winning the Sports Personality of the Year Award in 2009 he said: 'I've been lucky enough to win a lot of things in my career, playing with great players and playing under the greatest manager who has ever lived, I've played for the greatest club, this is up there.'

Explaining how he kept up his level of performance despite his advancing years, Giggs said: 'Desire, looking after myself. I'm enjoying my football more than ever and I think that's reflected in my play.'

It remains to be seen whether his reputation - and marriage - can survive this final twist in his career.

Miss Thomas's television tears came after a High Court hearing the previous day over the injunction that protected Giggs




source:dailymail

Imogen Thomas 'threatens to sue footballer over blackmail claims'

By Daily Mail Reporter


Furious: Imogen Thomas is considering suing the football player over claims she tried to blackmail him

Imogen Thomas is threatening to sue the football player who has concealed his identity following their affair, over claims she attempted to blackmail him, it has been claimed.

The 28-year-old star is said to be furious that the Premier League sportsman suggested she demanded money to keep their affair quiet.

And now, Miss Thomas has apparently told friends that she is planning to take the footballer to court if he repeats the blackmail allegations, which were first claimed during a legal hearing, in public.

Miss Thomas is quoted by the News of the World as telling a friend: 'The judges are happy for me to be branded a blackmailer without a shred of evidence yet want to stop politicians using the same process to reveal the truth.

'I am being taunted about trying to blackmail this man, but because of the injunction, I can't even defend myself.'

Miss Thomas stepped out yesterday for some retail therapy as she hit the shops in Brent Cross shopping centre with a friend.

Wearing a tight denim dress and brown wedges, Miss Thomas kept her face hidden behind a huge pair of sunglasses as she and her friend strolled along arm-in-arm.

Blackmail allegations first emerged after a hearing at the High Court last week when Mr Justice Eady said he had been handed strong evidence that the footballer had been 'set up' by Miss Thomas.

However, outside the courtroom Miss Thomas, who has dated footballer Jermain Defoe and comedian Russell Brand, said: ‘I have read the judgement and I am stunned by how I’m portrayed.

'Yet again my name and my reputation are being trashed while the man I had a relationship with is able to hide.

‘What’s more, I can’t even defend myself because I have been gagged. Where’s the fairness in that? What about my reputation?

‘If this is the way privacy injunctions are supposed to work then there’s something seriously wrong with the law.’

Retail therapy: Yesterday, Imogen was seen trying to take her mind off things with a shopping trip to Brent Cross with a friend

Denial: Imogen has strenuously denied ever attempting to blackmail the sportsman


In his judgement, Mr Justice Eady said the footballer had called in lawyers after an article appeared in The Sun last month about his alleged affair with Miss Thomas. He was not named, and his legal team won an injunction to keep his name private.

The judge said he was ‘a married man with a family’ and they were entitled to privacy under human rights laws.

According to the footballer’s witness statement, he met Miss Thomas last September, and they saw each other twice more in November and December. It was not clear if he disputed her claim of a sexual relationship.

In March this year she texted him to say she was considering selling her story, it was claimed.

The footballer in question is now taking legal action against Twitter in an attempt to quieten those who revealed his identity on the social networking site.

However, his aim hasn't quite gone to plan, as his intention has led hundreds more Twitter users to post the sportsman's name online in spite of his threats.



source:dailymail

'I'm no blackmailer:' Imogen Thomas breaks down on TV as she says she's tempted to break super-injunction and name footballer lover

By Daily Mail Reporter


'My pain': Imogen Thomas today denied blackmailing the footballer as she broke down on This Morning


Former Big Brother star Imogen Thomas today broke down on live television as she revealed she was tempted to blow the cover of the Premiership footballer hiding behind an injunction and make his name public.

Ms Thomas shed tears as she denied blackmailing the footballer for up to £100,000, and reiterated that they had been involved in a six-month affair.

Speaking on This Morning, she said that she would not be talking to the newspapers again about the affair, and said that she wanted her day in court to expose the man who she had been sleeping with


Imogen Thomas leaves her home in west London this morning

Miss Thomas said following heavy news coverage of the injunction taken out by the football star, she had been bullied on Twitter, with football fans telling her they wished she was dead.

She said she had nothing to do with the story to expose the Premier League star who allegedly cheated on his wife.

The 28-year-old said it was 'unfair' that she was the centre of attention while the family man is able to hide behind his court order.

In a public judgement at the High Court yesterday, Mr Justice Eady said he had been handed strong evidence that Miss Thomas had tried to blackmail the footballer, and that he had been ‘set up’.

But she said countered today: 'For me, blackmail is such a serious allegation. I can't believe someone is accusing me of blackmail and it's on the front cover of every newspaper today saying I've blackmailed this man.

'This is totally untrue. I've never asked for anything the whole time I was with him.'

Asked by interviewer Philip Schofield if she had demanded money to keep the story quiet, she said: 'No. Not at all. This is what I'm saying. There's no evidence of this. There's nothing there and like I said I've not given my statement.

'I want to say the truth about what happened between us - not to the papers, I want to say in court what happened and for me to defend myself because for me now, I mean I see blackmail as being a criminal.

'I'm sorry that I had an affair - I know what I did was wrong and I've put my hands up. I've done wrong. But today I've come on here to defend my name to show that I'm not a blackmailer. It's wrong. Even the judge says that he has no evidence of this and it could be misleading.'

Tears: The 28-year-old Welsh brunette said she was tempted to name the footballer as she broke down on This Morning

Denial: Imogen Thomas said she did not blackmail the star - and wants to tell her side of the story in court


Bursting into tears, the Welsh-born brunette said she has received death threats and is tempted to publicly name the star hiding behind his injunction.

'I've been so tempted just to say "yeah, it is that person" because why should I be taking all this flack and him get away with everything basically.

'His life is as normal... I don't know what he's going through at home, none of us know.'

'I'm absolutely hated. I've had lots of football fans telling my to die on Twitter.

And yes, I can close my Twitter account down but why should I be doing that as well?
'I try not to read the stuff I mean I will not read the newspapers from now on - it's just too upsetting. My mum is in bits over this.'

Mr Justice Eady said yesterday that Miss Thomas told the player she ‘needed’ £50,000 and that he agreed to meet her in a hotel because he feared she would sell her story if he did not.

Mr Justice Eady told how he believed that former Big Brother star Imogen Thomas (pictured outside court yesterday) may have been attempting to blackmail the player out of £100,000 in return for her silence following an affair

At the 30-minute meeting he gave her a signed football shirt but said he was not prepared to pay £50,000.

She contacted him again a few days later and asked for another meeting, at a second hotel, where he gave her some football tickets. Mr Justice Eady said she had later contacted him again and ‘made it clear that she was looking for £100,000’.

The judge said the player could have been ‘set up’ so that photographs could be taken at the two hotel rendezvous.

In his lengthy judgement, he said: ‘The evidence before the court at that point, therefore, appeared strongly to suggest that the claimant was being blackmailed, although that is not how he put it himself.’

The former reality television contestant, who has dated footballer Jermain Defoe and comedian Russell Brand, said she is happy to swear an oath to say she did nottry to blackmail the footballer.

She added: 'I want to stand there and swear on the Bible and say the absolute truth. I have no intention of going to the paper.

'It's the truth I had no involvement with the story. If I hadn't warned him he would have been all over the newspapers.'

The Welsh-born brunette insists she had a six-month affair with the player in a string of hotels, and says she was in love with him.






source:dailymail