Adam Thomas crowned winner during chaotic live finale of I’m A Celeb
By Carla Feric, Press Association Entertainment Reporter
Adam Thomas has been crowned the winner and “ultimate legend 2026” of I’m A Celebrity… South Africa, after the live finale descended into chaos.
The 37-year-old actor was voted the winner by public vote during the final on Friday, during which he was accused of being “abusive, aggressive and intimidating” by former footballer Jimmy Bullard.
The episode became chaotic after David Haye joined in the conversation to accuse the show of editing footage to make Thomas look like a “victim” and, after defending the actor, Sinitta and Gemma Collins walked off set.
Thomas has hit headlines since appearing on the all-star show for his feud with boxer Haye, who he said “broke” him and pushed him to his limits, and for his row with campmate Bullard for almost compromising his time on the show.
Bullard discussed their explosive row on the show, claiming Thomas dropped “c-bombs” which were not aired, and asked hosts Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly for their opinion as they had “front row seats”.
McPartlin disagreed that the exchange was aggressive and said: “No it wasn’t, I was there.”
Thomas responded by saying he took “full responsibility” for his actions and he has “nothing but love for Jimmy”, but Haye interrupted the exchange and said: “You’ve got a funny way of showing it.”
The interaction spiralled into chaos after the boxer was then asked about some of his controversial comments on the show, and he said: “I like to say it like I see it,” and accused the show of editing footage in favour of Thomas.
He added: “We all had banter back and forth, and a lot of it was cut out from their side.”
Haye and Bullard then asked their fellow contestants to agree Thomas had been “abusive, intimidating and aggressive” in his row with Bullard.
Meanwhile, Sinitta and Collins defended the actor but eventually walked off set, with the former The Only Way Is Essex star commenting that Haye was “disgusting”.
The dramatic episode later saw Thomas crowned the winner by reality TV star Sam Thompson, who won the original series in 2023, and said being on the show was a “blast”.
Olympian Sir Mo Farah placed in second, hailing the experience as “amazing” and “entertaining”, while former football manager Harry Redknapp came in third and said he “really enjoyed” his time on the series.
Craig Charles was awarded fourth place during the episode, which saw the finalists face insects, reptiles and other creepy crawlies in a series of pre-recorded trials filmed last autumn as they each fought to earn stars for their final jungle banquet.
After tackling their gruelling trials, the final four sat down for their jungle banquet and Thomas told of how the group “reminisced about the good old days” during their three weeks in camp.
Haye interrupted the episode early on as he questioned whether Thomas deserved to win due to his interaction with Bullard, after Collins hailed him as her “hero” and rooted for him to win.
McPartlin joked that the “scariest thing” the celebrities have faced this series were “David Haye’s views about women”, referencing the boxer’s remarks on “ugly birds” while discussing his girlfriend Sian Osborne which left viewers in uproar.
Ant and Dec also offered “support and love” to soap star Beverley Callard, who was unable to attend the live event.
It comes after viewers saw her forced to leave camp earlier this week due to undisclosed health issues, which were later revealed to be the start of her breast cancer diagnosis.
