Television presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have potentially reopened a fifteen-year-old feud with fellow I'm A Celebrity contestant Kelly Brook after making on-air jokes about her embarrassing flatulence confession during Tuesday night's episode.
The 'Smelly Brook' Incident That Sparked Tensions
During a campfire conversation, Kelly Brook shared a cringe-worthy story about accidentally passing wind in front of music icon Madonna and actress Gwyneth Paltrow during a dinner party in Los Angeles. The 45-year-old model explained how a macrobiotic diet left her suffering from extreme flatulence during the exclusive gathering.
"We're sitting in a room, and there was like her, Brits, Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, and we just had a macrobiotic meal," Brook recalled. "And Madonna comes and is sat next to me and we're chatting away, and my stomach just started rumbling so bad. And I let out the smelliest fart. It went right up. She was just like ergh. And I was so mortified."
Following the revealing scene, Ant and Dec immediately seized the opportunity for comedy, cheekily dubbing Brook 'Smelly Brook' during their presenting segments. The duo further joked that they didn't linger in the camp too long for fear of being present during another gaseous episode.
Britain's Got Talent: The Origin of Their Feud
The current jungle tension harks back to 2009 when Kelly Brook joined the third series of Britain's Got Talent as the programme's first-ever fourth judge alongside Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan. However, her tenure lasted merely one week before she was abruptly removed from the show.
While producers claimed the four-judge format was "too complicated," Brook publicly alleged that Ant and Dec were responsible for her dismissal. She claimed at the time: "There was nothing I could do in this country after Britain's Got Talent. The people at ITV were telling me that I had upset Ant and Dec and that was it."
The root of the conflict appears to have stemmed from an awkward exchange during their initial meeting. In their 2010 autobiography, Ooh! What a Lovely Pair: Our Story, Dec Donnelly described the moment Brook asked him "And what do you do on the show?" - a question he found particularly surprising given their high profile as the programme's hosts.
Dec wrote: "I don't want to sound like an egomaniac, but the last person who said, 'And what do you do?' was the Queen when I met her at the party for ITV's fiftieth anniversary."
Jungle Reunion Sparks Fan Reactions
Viewers quickly picked up on the historical tension between the presenters and the celebrity contestant. One social media user commented on X: "Do people realise Kelly Brook & Ant and Dec have serious beef with each other? #ImACeleb."
Another added: "Just realised. Doesn't Kelly Brook not like Ant and Dec after what happened at Britain's Got Talent? #ImACeleb."
Despite the apparent friction, Kelly Brook appeared to extend an olive branch ahead of her jungle stint, telling pre-show interviewers that her dream campmates would be Ant & Dec, describing them as "very well dressed" and expressing curiosity about how they would survive in the wilderness.
The reunion comes after sources revealed to The Sun that both parties felt apprehension about working together again. "How things ended with Kelly on Britain's Got Talent was very upsetting," an insider shared. "Both sides said things in anger afterwards, which meant the unpleasantness rumbled on."
According to reports, Kelly Brook is receiving a fee of £80,000 for her participation in I'm A Celebrity, significantly less than the previously speculated £300,000 figure.
As the jungle adventure continues, viewers will be watching closely to see if this revived tension develops into full-blown conflict or if the celebrities can finally put their fifteen-year feud to rest in the Australian wilderness.
