Nigella Lawson's husband Charles Saatchi has claimed that he was just helping his wife clean her nose when he was snapped putting a finger up her nostril.
Saatchi spoke out after new pictures emerged at the weekend of him apparently reaching out and tweaking Lawson's nose outside a restaurant, the Mirror reported.
The art collector millionaire, 70, told the publication that even domestic goddesses sometimes have a bit of snot in their nose and he was trying to fish it out.
Recent reports have suggested the restaurant row between the couple may have lasted as long as 27 minutes - with Saatchi grabbing her by the throat at least four times.
He had earlier claimed the original images merely showed a "playful tiff" - but a day later he accepted a police caution.
