The long-standing rumoured feud between I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! contestant Kelly Brook and the show's iconic hosts, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, has dramatically resurfaced as the new series launches on ITV.
Model and radio DJ Brook is one of ten celebrities braving the jungle this year. After her parachute entrance onto the show on Sunday 16 November, viewers were quick to recall her previous, fraught encounter with the presenting duo during her incredibly short-lived role on Britain's Got Talent back in 2009.
The BGT Judging Debacle
Brook was hired as a fourth judge on the hit reality show, but was dropped after a mere week. While ITV officially stated that the addition of a fourth judge had made the format "too complicated", Brook herself suggested a different reason. She believed it was because she had inadvertently upset Ant and Dec by questioning their role on the series.
In their 2010 memoir, Ooh! What a Lovely Pair: Our Story, Dec Donnelly recounted an awkward first-day encounter. He wrote that he tried to calm a nervous Brook by telling her to relax, to which she reportedly replied, "And what do you do on the show?"
Donnelly described his shock, noting that Simon Cowell, seated beside him, interjected to ask if Brook had even seen the programme. She allegedly responded, "Yeah... well, bits." Donnelly reflected that the last person to ask him what he did was the Queen.
Clashing Egos and Career Fallout
Brook's perspective, shared in subsequent interviews, was that Ant and Dec "clearly didn't want" her on the show. She claimed that despite her being pleasant, their egos were bruised, leading them to be very vocal about their displeasure.
The model also alleged significant professional repercussions. She stated that after leaving Britain's Got Talent, "there was nothing I could do in this country" because "the people at ITV were telling me that I had upset Ant and Dec and that was it."
The hosts' autobiography reveals they were "annoyed" about her hiring from the start. They questioned why a fourth judge was needed and why it was Kelly Brook, claiming that Simon Cowell had made the decision without consulting them, a move with which they strongly disagreed.
Confirmed Tension and Public Reaction
Fellow judge at the time, Piers Morgan, confirmed the ongoing tension. Just one day after the new I'm a Celebrity series began, Morgan posted on Instagram, calling Brook's two-day BGT stint "disastrous".
He wrote, "Be interesting to see how she interacts with Ant and Dec given she still blames them for being fired so fast and ruthlessly... which isn't far from the truth." He corroborated that the hosts were unhappy about not being consulted and were further irritated by Brook's now-infamous question.
The launch of the new series ignited discussion on social media, with one viral post on X (formerly Twitter) asking, "Do people realise Kelly Brook & Ant and Dec have serious beef with each other?" This has set the stage for a potentially explosive and must-watch dynamic in the Australian jungle.
