Home at last!
Cerys Nelmes back in the UK after five-month Turkish ordeal
Cerys Nelmes is back in Britain for Christmas after being trapped in Turkey for five months over accusations of shoplifting.
The comedian was accused of stealing £110 worth of clothes from a Zara store in Istanbul on July 22, after garments were allegedly found stuffed inside her rucksack.
She was slapped with a travel ban until the case came up – but a Turkish judge overturned that decision on Tuesday.
In an emotional video recorded outside court, a tearful Nelmes said: ‘I’m coming home tomorrow. It hasn’t really sunk in yet - I don’t think it will until I get on the plane. I’m coming home!’
And after retiring via Bristol Airport, the he 47-year-old thanked those who supported her through her ordeal, saying : ‘I’m home. I’m regrouping… ‘
She also revealed was quizzed by Interpol before she got on her flight, sparking fresh fears she would not be able to make it home.
In a new video this morning, she said she found herself crying over the smallest things, such as a lack of teabags in the house. ‘I’m feeling very out of sorts,’ she said. ‘I can’t explain it. Discombobulated probably… I’m sad that I’m sad.’
She faced three years behind bars after garments were allegedly found stuffed inside her backpack.
CCTV showed the comedian browsing Zara with an armful of clothes on hangers. Later footage shows her leaving the store while appearing to be distracted by her phone but with no clothes in hand.
As she remains outside, looking at her phone, a staff member approaches and asks her and another woman to go back inside.
Nelmes, who has charted her ordeal in regular video updates on Instagram, has insisted the incident was a misunderstanding, claiming she absentmindedly left the store before ringing up her purchases.
She says that at the police station she was pressured to sign documents in a language she could not read. She also said she was held in a cell for 24 hours with no food, toilet or water.
Nelmes was released on bail but banned from leaving the country, until that was overturned this week. Even that hearing was fraught as the judge was off sick, and she had to wait for another to be found, unsure that anyone would be available to hear her case.
Published: 18 Dec 2025
