Ant and Dec: It was a shame I’m A Celebrity final was ‘not more celebratory’
By Carla Feric and Casey Cooper-Fiske, Press Association
I’m A Celebrity… South Africa presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have discussed the show’s controversial final, with the former saying “it was a shame” that it was not “more celebratory”.
McPartlin, 50, also said “there was no confrontation” between him and Jimmy Bullard amid reports that he clashed with the former footballer in the car park after the show.
During last week’s live final of the ITV reality show, actor Adam Thomas was crowned the I’m A Celebrity legend but during the explosive episode, he was accused of being “abusive, aggressive and intimidating” by Bullard.
The episode descended into chaos after David Haye accused the show of editing footage to make Thomas look like a “victim” and, after defending the actor, singer Sinitta and reality TV star Gemma Collins walked off set.
Speaking on their podcast, Hanging Out With Ant And Dec, the pair agreed that it was a “weird night of TV”, comparable to an episode of The Jerry Springer Show.
Donnelly, 50, said: “We didn’t know quite what to expect when we got to the studio. There had been so much stuff in the press written about who was talking to who, and who wasn’t talking to who, and who was upset with who.
“We had no idea which way (the show) was going to go.
“Actually, the main show went very, very smoothly until we played Adam’s trial and David Haye heckles from the audience – ‘do you think you deserve to win after all that?’, and oh, here we go.”
Newcastle-born presenter Donnelly also said he felt the argument between Bullard and Thomas, which stemmed from the former footballer almost compromising the actor’s time on the show, was “weird”.
He continued: “Although (Bullard) didn’t care that he was throwing Adam under the bus (…) he wanted to get paid.
“Adam was collateral damage, and the fact that Adam got angry at him for that, well, Jimmy took an exception to that – which feels kind of weird to me.”
“The whole thing was weird to me which is why, on the night, I disagreed with him quite firmly,” McPartlin chimed in.
He added: “It just unfortunately went on for too long, we thought. We tried to handle it as professionally as we could and keep on track and also, we were meant to give a question to every celebrity there.”
Donnelly said: “That was the real shame, that we were supposed to hear from every single person.”
Donnelly also spoke about the theatrical nature of Haye’s repeated heckles, calling it “a bit of a sport for him”, with McPartlin agreeing that it is part of “what he does” and his on-stage persona as a boxer.
McPartlin also said that he “had a laugh” with Haye after the show and the pair were “cool”, adding: “I walked off and saw Jimmy Bullard, and I shook his hand, and was like, ‘look after yourself’.
“There was no confrontation. He wasn’t shouting at me. I wasn’t shouting at him. I wasn’t flanked by two security guards, as it said in the paper.
“I just felt it was a shame that the crowning moment of I’m a Celebrity… South Africa couldn’t have been more celebratory.”
