Reality TV has often proved a must-see for intrigued viewers this millennium – yet the latest I’m A Celebrity finale has explosively upped the ante.
People tuning in to the ITV show for Friday night’s climax saw soap actor Adam Thomas crowned the winner, but the decision has not gone down well with some – and saw him targeted with finger-pointing condemnation by fellow contestants.
The channel has been accused of ‘good editing’ in South Africa to allegedly favour Thomas, who was seen involved in arguments with ex-heavyweight boxing champion David Haye, 45, and former Premier League footballer Jimmy Bullard.
A furious row broke out as hosts Ant and Dec tried to convene a catch-up panel between the contestants on Friday night’s broadcast.
Both Bullard, 47, and Haye levelled claims that the ITV footage of the show had been handily edited to portray Thomas more positively and cutting out angrier scenes in the confrontations they shared.
Such were the tensions that Ant McPartlin, 50, was later seen being helped by a security guard stepping in, amid an off-screen potential clash with Bullard.
The series and last night’s row were filmed last September and October but this month’s broadcasts have ramped up ongoing animosity between those involved.
Bullard accused ex-Emmerdale actor Thomas, 37, of being ‘abusive, aggressive and intimidating’ during an furious row in the pre-recorded show last year.
Former footballer Jimmy Bullard (top left) expressed his emotions in the I’m A Celebrity finale
Soap actor Adam Thomas won the latest I’m A Celebrity series
This year’s All Stars series was ridden been plagued with bullying rows and controversial spats between feuding Thomas, Bullard and Haye.
During the final, Ant and Dec gave Bullard the opportunity to speak after Thomas allegedly called him the ‘C-word’ in an explosive clash when Bullard called ‘I’m a Celebrity’ in one of the trials which left Adam in danger of going home.
The clash became so heated that fellow contestants Gemma Collins, 45, and Sinitta, 62, walked off stage when Bullard went around each campmate to ask whether they thought Thomas’s behaviour had been ‘aggressive and abusive’.
Ex-Tottenham Hotspur manager and former I’m A Celebrity winner Harry Redknapp, 79, when challenged by Bullard for a response, demurred and stayed silent.
The confrontation finished with Ant telling Jimmy: ‘Right, let’s leave it there. We’ll agree to disagree.’
The hosts, usually implacable, appeared to almost lose their temper at times – with Ant telling both Bullard and Haye: ‘You weren’t there.’
Just hours after the finale, Ant suffered an awkward run-in with Jimmy as he headed home alongside his wife, Anne-Marie Corbett.
Ant appeared to laugh off the matter as Jimmy attempted to get his attention, before a security guard stepped in.
Ant McPartlin was surrounded by security as he came face to face with Jimmy Bullard after a chaotic I’m A Celebrity finale on Friday night
Divided viewers shared their different levels of shock on social media, with one saying: ‘I absolutely love the drama of live TV but David and Jimmy are EMBARRASSING themselves.’
Another poster went the other way, saying: ‘Multiple camp mates who were there have backed up Bullard’s claims and have criticised ITV’s editing of the footage to hide what happened and protect Adam, but we should just blindly accept what Adam, Ant & Dec say? Not like they would lie to protect their affiliation with ITV.’
Other comments included ‘Grown adults’, ‘Just shows how clever editing can ruin someone’ and ‘I now need to go watch this series. I need to know what all the drama is about’.
A show spokesperson today said: ‘We showed an accurate and fair representation of events.’
During last night’s broadcast, Bullard admitted he ‘threw Adam under the bus’ when he quit a trial that sparked their initial argument.
The former footballer admitted he had to leave for personal reasons and that if he didn’t say ‘I’m A Celebrity’ in the challenge, he would not have received his full pay.
He said: ‘Listen, Adam and all of you can be upset with me and I absolutely threw him under the bus, I get it and I’ll wear that.’
‘But what I don’t stand on, is someone being abusive, aggressive and intimidating, I don’t stand on that.’
Ex-Wigan Athletic and Hull City midfielder Jimmy Bullard voiced his frustrations in the finale
Welcoming Ant and Dec to share their opinion on the matter, Jimmy said: ‘You [pointing to the hosts] were there and you didn’t show any of that [footage]’, adding: ‘You didn’t show any of the C-bombs, it’s a liberty.’
Ant argued: ‘The reason we didn’t air the C-bomb is because that is unbroadcastable. I was there and I didn’t think it was intimidating. I was there, Jim.’
Haye, who has been accused of ‘bullying’ Thomas during the show, disagreed with Ant and backed Bullard as he demanded answers as to why Thomas was hurling obscenities at Jimmy.
Thomas hit back, telling Haye to ‘let the finalists speak’, which received cheers from the crowd in the live audience.
Thomas added: ‘I take full responsibility for my actions and yes emotions were definitely running high in that moment.
‘I have nothing but love for Jimmy in that moment. I have apologised to Jimmy on numerous occasions and I do take everything that he is saying into account and the only thing I can do is apologise.
‘That is not how I want to show myself off and I have never shown myself off like that before or after that. I do apologise, Jimmy.’
Haye interjected by saying ‘Funny way of showing it’ before being told by Ant and Dec to stop interrupting.
‘It certainly hasn’t been short of drama this year’, Declan Donnelly quipped as he kicked off the live final
Craig Charles finished in fourth place, with Harry Redknapp and Mo Farah placing second and third
The ex-boxer continued: ‘I like to say how I see it, I like to keep it real and what I have seen is a lot of editing to make this poor guy [pointing to Adam] the victim so the people will support him.
‘We all had banter back and forth, a lot of it was cut out from their side. But I think it is time for the truth.’
Walking off stage, former pop star Sinitta told the audience: ‘Guys, you weren’t there – I was there and it was aggressive and abusive, we were shaking.’
Collins, a friend of Thomas, then followed Sinitta off the set, while Bullard shouted in the background: ‘You can’t be aggressive, abusive and intimating – it doesn’t matter if Adam said sorry.
‘I will not take you [Ant] saying it wasn’t aggressive, abusive and intimating, you can’t say that. Show it, let everyone watch it, let’s play it now.’
Ant and Dec wrapped up, saying: ‘Right, let’s leave it there. We’ll agree to disagree Jim.’
Former Red Dwarf and Coronation Street actor Craig Charles, who finished fourth in the series, was later among those criticising the editing of the series.
After the tumultuous show finale, he appeared on spin-off show I’m A Celeb Unpacked, where he said: ‘I’ll always remember it for tears of laughter, rather than tears of pain. We laughed so much in that camp.
Sir Mo Farah waved to onlookers on his exit from the latest I’m A Celebrity series
Former football manager Harry Redknapp was supported by his wife Sandra at the finale
Gemma Collins had earlier walked off set, following Sinitta, during the on-screen argument
‘I’m talking proper belly laughs – I mean, my stomach was aching with the laughter.
‘But they didn’t really show much of that – it kind of got sidetracked by the controversy.’
Previous fiery moments that remain in the memory from reality TV this century include the first series of Big Brother, on Channel 4, back in 2000.
One of the contestants, Nick Bateman, became known as ‘Nasty Nick’ after being caught trying to manipulate fellow housemates’ votes for who should be evicted – only to find himself disqualified instead.
Later Big Brother series brought the nation’s attention to Jade Goody, who appeared in the third series in 2002 and then later the spin-off Celebrity Big Brother in 2007.
She faced criticism that year for appearing to mock in a racist way fellow housemate, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, dubbing her ‘Shilpa Poppadom’ and ridiculing her for bleaching her facial hair.
The comments, laughed along with by Jade alongside model Danielle Lloyd and former S Club 7 singer Jo O’Meara, prompted criticism as well as more than 44,500 complaints to media watchdog Ofcom.
Then-Foreign Secretary David Miliband even faced questions about the controversy, while trying to play it down, during his ministerial visit at the same time to India. He declined to comment.
Jade Goody was diagnosed with cancer in 2008 while she was appearing on the Indian version of Big Brother in a bid to make amends for the race row.
After her diagnosis, Jade’s cancer spread to her bowel, liver and groin and she died on Mother’s Day in March 2009 at the age of 27.
Big Brother has often been described as marking a watershed in more confrontational reality TV series when introduced by Dutch firm Endemol.
At around the same time there were more run-of-the-mill fly-on-the-wall screen shows such as Airport and Driving School – which in turn influenced sitcom parody equivalents such as People Like Us and more successfully The Office.
I’M A CELEBRITY ALL-STARS 2026: MEET THE CAMPMATES
GEMMA COLLINS
The GC took part in the 14th series of I’m A Celebrity back in 2014
AGE: 45
SERIES: 2014 (14th series) quit after 72 hours
OCCUPATION: Reality star
FAMOUS FOR: Gemma, popularly known as The GC, rose to fame on the reality series The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE). She is known for her larger-than-life ‘diva’ persona.
ASHLEY ROBERTS
As the 2012 runner-up, Ashley said going on I’m A Celebrity was life-changing
AGE: 44
SERIES: 2012 runner-up (12th series)
OCCUPATION: Heart Radio presenter, Pussycat Doll
FAMOUS FOR: Ashley Roberts is a showbiz correspondent for Heart Breakfast. She rose to fame in noughties girlband the Pussycat Dolls.
SIR MO FARAH
Sir Mo Farah, 43, is hoping to conquer his fear of snakes
AGE: 43
SERIES: Fifth place in 2020 (20th series set in Wales)
OCCUPATION: Olympian
FAMOUS FOR: Sir Mo is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic history. He won gold in both the 5,000m and 10,000m at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
DAVID HAYE
Former World Champion boxer David Haye thinks nothing will scare him in the jungle
AGE: 45
SERIES: 2012, came in third place (12th series)
OCCUPATION: Boxer
FAMOUS FOR: David is a legendary British former professional boxer. He is one of only three boxers in history to have unified the world titles at cruiserweight and gone on to become a world heavyweight champion.
SCARLETT MOFFATT
Scarlett Moffatt, 35, admitted she was feeling apprehensive about the jungle
AGE: 35
SERIES: 2016 Queen of the jungle (16th series)
OCCUPATION: Reality star
FAMOUS FOR: Scarlett became a TV favourite after joining Gogglebox. She went on to win I’m A Celebrity in 2016.
SEANN WALSH
Since Australia, Seann Walsh is now a proud dad of two
AGE: 40
SERIES: 2022, finished in fifth place (22nd series)
OCCUPATION: Comedian
FAMOUS FOR: Seann Walsh is a comedian who was caught in a cheating scandal when he starred in Strictly in 2016 alongside his professional partner Katya Jones.
SINITTA
Sinitta, 62, hopes she will finally conquer her phobia of ‘everything’
AGE: 62
SERIES: 2011, voted out second (11th series)
OCCUPATION: Eighties popstar
FAMOUS FOR: Sinitta, first reached global fame in the 1980s with hits like So Macho and Toy Boy. She was also known for her guest appearances on The X Factor.
JIMMY BULLARD
Former footballer Jimmy, 47, will be joining his fellow co-stars Gemma and Craig
AGE: 47
SERIES: 2014 (10th place)
OCCUPATION: Former footballer
FAMOUS FOR: Known as ‘The Bulldog’, Jimmy was a highly technical and energetic midfielder who became a cult hero for his sense of humour and iconic celebrations.
ADAM THOMAS
Adam’s son, Teddy, was only two when he first did the Australian jungle
AGE: 37
SERIES: Third place in 2016 (16th series)
OCCUPATION: Actor
FAMOUS FOR: Adam is famous for starring in Waterloo Road and Emmerdale. He recently returned to Waterloo Road for its 20th anniversary.
HARRY REDKNAPP
Harry Redknapp won the 18th series of I’m A Celebrity back in 2018
AGE: 79
SERIES: 18th series in 2018. I’m A Celebrity King Of The Jungle.
OCCUPATION: Legendary football manager
FAMOUS FOR: Harry Redknapp’s career spans over 60 years in professional football, transitioning from a skilful winger to one of the most recognisable managers in Premier League history.
CRAIG CHARLES
Corrie legend Craig, 61, was another celebrity who starred in the 14th series
AGE: 61
SERIES: 2014 quit early
OCCUPATION: Actor
FAMOUS FOR: Craig is most famous for his role as Dave Lister in the cult science-fiction sitcom Red Dwarf and for playing Lloyd Mullaney in the long-running soap opera Coronation Street.
BEVERLEY CALLARD
Beverley was part of the first series that took place in a Welsh castle in 2020
AGE: 69
SERIES: 2020, came in tenth place (20th series)
OCCUPATION: Actress
FAMOUS FOR: Beverley played Coronation Street’s iconic Liz McDonald on and off for 31 years.
