By Owen Tonks

Dwight Yorke has said that he could not bear to visit the home of Peter Andre and Katie Price because they had turned it into a “shrine to their own vanity”.

Dwight, father to Katie’s son Harvey, told the News of the World: “The first time I saw them together they immediately put on this ostentatious display of affection, kissing and cuddling each other and calling one another ‘Babes’ and ‘Precious’.”

The former Manchester United footballer also spoke of his instant dislike for Peter and his relationship with his son Harvey: “When I met Andre I wanted to throttle him. I’m not a violent man and it takes an awful lot to rile me. But this man got under my skin at the outset.

“Andre turned to me and said, ‘Listen, mate, it’s got nothing to do with me’ – that’s right, pal so why don’t you just keep your nose out of it! – ‘but Harvey needs his father’.”

He added: “And then they had the gall to talk about Andre adopting him. I so, so wanted to grab him around the neck and throttle him for his insensitivity. So close.

“Having put up with everything his missus had thrown at me, I now had to listen to this idiot lecturing me on fatherhood? I don’t think so. The guy’s a muppet. No way would I ever, ever, allow Harvey to be adopted by him.

“Over the years I’ve heard Katie saying how Andre is Harvey’s dad and what a terrible, uncaring father I’ve been, all of which sticks in my throat. Maybe if she hadn’t made life so difficult for me, I might have been able to take a far more proactive role.”