New Year's Eve photo: Man at the centre of Manchester image says he remembers nothing about it

Mike Deveney speaks out about being the star of the New Year's Eve Manchester montage

New Year's Eve celebrations (not Manchester) (EPA)

The unlikely star of the Manchester New Year’s Eve photograph that went viral for its Renaissance-like composition says he can't remember anything about the night.

Mike Deviney, 47, told the Sun that he felt ‘a bit daft’ He said, "I remember nothing at all about being on the floor. I remember getting up about 20 minutes later and going home with Hannah."

His friend, Hannah Kirby, is also depicted in the photograph behind him wearing a red dress.

Unsurprisingly, Mr Deveney said he kept a low profile on New Year’s Day and didn’t hear about the photograph until it went viral on 2 January. “I’m not really bothered about the photo,” he added.

He explained how he’d been drinking in a pub before heading into town for cocktails to celebrate New Year.

The photograph, taken by Manchester Evening News photographer Joel Goodman, was tweeted hundreds and thousands of times, and has since been compared to a piece of Renaissance art as it follows the ‘golden ratio’.

On Monday, Ms Kirby helped shed more light on the scene that has been widely compared to Renaissance art telling the Manchester Evening News that Mr Deviney hadn't been casually reaching for his beer as widely speculated but had instead been knocked over following a fight between police and another man.

Greater Manchester Police tweeted that while the picture may have gone viral, it was “just a normal night for cops, captured brilliantly”.