Craig Charles shares what I’m A Celebrity was really like amid rows and controversy
I’m A Celeb star Craig Charles has shared what the show was really like before it got ‘sidetracked by controversy’ amid a brutal row between Adam Thomas, Jimmy Bullard and David Haye
Craig Charles shares what it was really like on I’m A Celeb(Image: PA)
I’m A Celeb wrapped up with a live final that was nothing short of explosive, but finalist Craig Charles has shared what it was really like to be on the show amid all the rows and drama.
On 24 April, after three weeks of trials, outdoor showers and creepy crawlies, the second series of I’m A Celeb All Stars came to an end with the season’s only live episode. During it, Adam Thomas was crowned the Jungle Legend following two rows – one with David Haye after the boxer took digs at the star when he ruled himself out of a challenge, and another with Jimmy Bullard after the former footballer quit the show mid trial, putting Adam at risk.
The rows continued off screen, as David slammed Adam as “a professional victim” on Good Morning Britain, Adam saying what happened on the show “broke” him and Jimmy vowing to get his side of the story out there. The show got so heated, both Sinitta and Gemma stormed off.
During the spin-off show, Unpacked, Craig shared what he thought of the atmosphere on set. “I’ll always remember it for tears of laughter, rather than tears of pain. I’m talking proper belly laughs, I mean my stomach was aching with the laughter.”
Referencing the fact that the show was pre-recorded and edited, he added: “But they didn’t really show much of that. It kind of got sidetracked by the controversy.”
He continued: “But I’ll always take away that we laughed so much. We bonded so well and I’m gonna take away friends for life from this experience.”
Other stars had previously spoken about how the show was edited. Sinitta said on social media that parts of Adam’s onscreen fight with Jimmy, in which he swore at the footballer whilst Jimmy called him “pathetic”, weren’t shown.
She said that Adam called Jimmy the C-word multiple times, which the Waterloo Road actor admitted to and apologised for during the live final. An ITV spokesperson told the Mail: “We showed an accurate and fair representation of events.”
The I’m A Celeb live final got dramatic(Image: Jonathan Hordle/ITV/Shutterstock)
On This Morning on ahead of the live final, Craig also said that he felt Adam was “wound up” and “aggressive” during the argument. He said: “Adam was so wound up, so aggressive, like a coiled spring. It looked like he was going to attack Jimmy, he was dropping f-bombs and c-bombs.”
Talking to host Dermot O’Leary, he continued: “If Alison [Hammond, the other host] said she didn’t want to do an interview and you reacted like that, you would be escorted off the premises, it really was traumatic.
“They had to water down what we’d really seen but they didn’t water down our responses. They couldn’t broadcast it, I get that, I’m not blaming ITV, they edited it out. So mine and Harry’s [Redknapp] response to that was because of what we’d really seen.” Craig and Harry had been attacked online for seeming to defend Jimmy.
Jimmy also claimed Adam was aggressive and “intimidating” during the live final, but host Ant McPartlin insisted that this wasn’t the case and while Adam was clearly angry, he did not feel the star was being aggressive.
