Ant and Dec have finally spoken out after the explosive I’m A Celebrity… South Africa live final descended into one of the most chaotic nights in recent ITV history — with walkouts, furious arguments and over 1,000 Ofcom complaints.
The presenting duo, both 50, were left trying to keep control of the live broadcast last Friday as tensions boiled over between Adam Thomas, Jimmy Bullard and David Haye in front of millions of viewers.
The dramatic finale also saw Gemma Collins and Sinitta storm off stage during the live show, leaving fans stunned and social media in meltdown.
Now, speaking on their podcast Hanging Out with Ant and Dec, the Geordie pair admitted the evening felt completely unpredictable from the moment it began.
Dec summed up the atmosphere by saying: “It was quite the night!”, while Ant let out a deep sigh before admitting: “It was a weird night of TV.”
The hosts reflected on the tense opening moments of the show, when Jimmy Bullard was immediately questioned over his now infamous decision to shout “I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!” during filming.
Dec explained: “The first question was to Jimmy about why did you call I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here,” before Ant added: “On the night I said I disagreed with it.”
According to Dec, Jimmy arrived at the final determined to vent his frustrations publicly after weeks of behind-the-scenes fallout.
“He had a bit of a bee in his bonnet and wanted to get that off his chest,” Dec admitted.
But perhaps the most surprising revelation came when Dec disclosed that some of the campmates had already quietly distanced themselves from the group after the explosive finale.
He revealed: “And we’d heard that Gemma and Adam had left the WhatsApp group.”
The revelation immediately sparked speculation among fans that the tensions behind the scenes may still be far from over.
Ant also recalled the awkward moment he unexpectedly came face-to-face with Jimmy Bullard and David Haye in the studio car park after claims emerged that the pair had been removed from filming.
“There were two people in the car park, David Haye and Jimmy Bullard,” Ant said. “I thought, ‘Oh god, how’s your luck’.”
Dec admitted neither of them had any clue how the evening would unfold once the cameras started rolling.
“We had no idea which way it was going to go,” he confessed.
Their comments came just hours after Adam Thomas emotionally broke down on his own podcast while reflecting on the traumatic aftermath of the final.
Despite being crowned winner of the series, the former Emmerdale actor admitted he felt emotionally shattered rather than triumphant after the explosive confrontations.
Fighting back tears, Adam said: “The sad truth is that everyone will go on with their lives but for me, this will be it for me for the rest of my life.”
“I will live with everything that’s happened from the very start and to the very finish, this is part of my DNA now, it’s made me the person that I am.”
With more revelations expected when the full podcast episode drops, fans are now convinced the fallout from the I’m A Celeb final is only just beginning.
