By Jessica Sansome

Copyright manchestereveningnews

Ryan Thomas has said he ‘still can’t process it’ as he shared his heartbreaking reaction to the death of Ricky Hatton. There has been an outpouring of grief from the sporting world and beyond after the boxer was found dead at his home in Hyde, Greater Manchester on Sunday (September 14), at the age of 46. His family have revealed that ‘The Hitman’ was “looking forward to the future” as he prepared to make a return to the ring against Eisa Al Dah in Dubai in December, having announced the bout in July. In a statement issued on Wednesday (September 17), the Hatton family said: “We are all distraught at the events of recent days. To all our knowledge, despite his well-documented struggles, Richard was in a good place. “He was excited for the future; his bag was packed ready to go to Dubai to promote a comeback fight and he was planning a celebration in Dubai of which his beloved girls Millie and Fearne were to be the centre of. “He was excited that they would see him fight for the first time in person. He was a doting grandfather and loved spending time with Campbell and Lyla. Richard planned to spend more time in Tenerife.” Ryan has now shared a number of posts on social media following Hatton’s death, with the pair having taken part in Dancing on Ice together last year. He first shared a picture from the weekend’s Manchester Derby, where players and fans held a minute applause for the late sportsman, who was a devoted Manchester City fan, and said: “Still can’t process it.” Ryan, who is famed for playing Jason Grimshaw in Coronation Street, went on to reshare posts from Hatton’s Instagram page before sharing a video from the time they spent together. In the clip, Ryan and Hatton were sitting opposite each other on the train, seemingly going between their home city and the south for Dancing on Ice filming. In the clip, Ryan said: “Guys, a little note to anyone travelling on a train. If you ever see Ricky Hatton, get next to him. He’ll get you a free upgrade!” Hatton then started laughing before he started a “there’s only one Ricky Hatton” chant. Alongside the post, the Manchester-born actor and presenter wrote in view of his followers: “There’s only 1 Ricky Hatton!!! Loved by everyone.” It comes after Hatton’s son Campbell had taken to Instagram on Tuesday (September 16) to pay tribute to his father. The 24-year-old former fighter – who had announced his retirement from the ring earlier this year – wrote on the social media platform: “Heartbroken isn’t the word. “Everybody has always said I was your double and never a truer word said. “Looked up to you in every aspect of life. Can’t explain how much I’m going to miss the laughs we had and all the good times which I will remember forever. Just can’t believe we won’t have any more. Love you dad.”