Adam Thomas has revealed the exact moment things went wrong between himself and David Haye. The former Emmerdale star, 37, emerged victorious as a Jungle Legend in the most recent series of I'm A Celebrity...South Africa but it all came after a dramatic few weeks where he was at the centre of an ugly feud with boxer David.
The actor, who is also known for his role as Donte Charles in Waterloo Road, has arthritis, which he has been open about. Explaining how it affects him, he said previously: 'It is an autoimmune disease. Basically means my immune system is attacking my own body. It causes a s**t-load of pain,' and David did not appear to understand that when he tried to force him into doing a trial.
The viral moment from the series spawned a much-discussed public feud between the pair, and whilst David has dismissed the whole thing as 'banter,' Adam has now explained that it possibly was to begin with, but there was one particular moment, which didn't make it to air, that possibly changed things for the worse.
He said: 'It started off as banter when we were in the game and I think the tables turned. I know when the tables turned, I knew it and it was my own fault. That's why I sort of blame myself, I'm like 'Why?''
'It didn't get shown but there was a clip in camp where David kept saying 'It's all about winning, it's all about winning, it's a sport mentality.' And I just remember at the end of it going, 'Ah well, I feel pretty bad because I'm always saying to my kids that it's all about taking part.''
Adam said from that moment the digs from David became far too 'personal' to be dismissed as a joke. He added: 'Everyone laughed and that was the end of it. Then I beat him in this trial, and, I don't think it got shown, I said 'I thought you said it was all about winning, David.' And I think that was the moment where I f***** up. Because that's when it was like, 'game time now.' And yes we had a bit of banter going back and forth because we were in a game.'
'And listen, I know what banter is. I've grew up with two brothers all my life. I know what banter is. It's a two-way street. It's back and forth. Yeah, we take the p***, but it's all in jest, it's all fun. Everything he was saying to me was personal and it just got to a point where it crossed the line.'
Adam's new comments come just days after David, speaking before the final aired, stood by his behaviour and claimed that the soap star had become a 'professional victim' amid the whole public row. During an appearance on This Morning, he said: 'Gemma [Collins] and I started off frosty, two big personalities, we clashed at the beginning. But once I got to know her, we got on great.'
'We left hand in hand afterwards, such a lovely woman. I got on with everyone, even Adam. The bullying thing, he's really fanning the flames on it and I think his angle is to play the victim card.'
'Whenever there was a trial, his sickness popped up and I just called that out, I'm the type of person who sees something and says 'Nah, you're full of it.''
'It flares up at convenient times and I just called that out. He's a super sweet guy but he's a professional victim, he is a professional victim. I sat next to him on the plane for 10 hours and actually explained to him what banter is.'
