Ant and Dec have confirmed that the entire cast of I'm A Celebrity... South Africa will be present at the live final on Friday night, following a series filled with drama and conflict. The show, filmed in South Africa last September, has been airing on UTV for the past few weeks, culminating in the crowning of the winner on Friday.
This announcement comes after a notable bullying row between David Haye and Adam Thomas, as well as questions regarding whether former footballer Jimmy Bullard would attend after his heated clash with Adam earlier in the week. Speaking at the ITV Showcase event in London on Thursday night, Ant and Dec provided an update on the final.
Dec said during a Q&A: 'We've got the live final tomorrow night, that is going to be interesting, we're getting them all back together, apparently they are all coming... They are all coming, we are not in the WhatsApp group, but we will see how it goes...'
On Tuesday, reports emerged that the final had been thrown into chaos, with Jimmy facing a potential loss of 20 per cent of his show fee if he refused to appear following his tense departure from the show. It was believed that the 47-year-old former footballer would not show up after his explosive argument with Adam.
The pair locked horns during a Bushtucker Trial during filming in South Africa last year, when Jimmy refused to participate in a trial, putting Adam's place on the show at risk since they were partnered for the task. Adam eventually remained on the show, while Jimmy left after their blazing row. During the trial, Jimmy decided he had enough and uttered the show's famous phrase to end the trial. However, Adam, who was also competing with his campmate, was left furious and shouted: 'Jimmy, are you f***ing taking the p***? I am in there getting covered in f***ing ants.' Jimmy replied: 'Woah, calm down. That's pathetic.' It is understood the pair are still not on speaking terms.
A source told The Sun earlier this week: 'It's a very sad turn of events. Both men acted in a way they're not proud of. It's so bad, in fact, that Jimmy says there's no way he'll be turning up on Friday, which means he won't be paid his full show fee. Jimmy snubbed going to the All Stars press launch last month so everyone knows he's serious.'
The Daily Mail contacted representatives of Jimmy Bullard and ITV for comment. Their campmates Gemma Collins, Scarlett Moffatt, Ashley Roberts, Harry Redknapp and others will also be present at the final. In addition, tensions between David and Adam are likely to surface at the final. On Thursday, David shared a vile reaction to the 'bullying' row with Adam in a new swipe ahead of the show's final.
The boxer, 45, had a fractious relationship in the South African jungle with Waterloo Road star Adam, 37, in scenes filmed in September last year. David has been accused of 'bullying' after a series of swipes towards Adam were aired, including one instance where he branded the actor 'useless' for excusing himself from a trial due to his health. While David addressed their 'banter' following his exit earlier this week, he has now shared a further unsavoury swipe at Adam.
Taking to his social media on Tuesday evening, David posted an AI-created image of himself in his boxing shorts sternly flashing his middle finger. Alongside the picture, audio of Adam plays, where he told David during an exchange in camp: 'I've got no issues David, you're my only issue right now'. On Sunday, Adam shared an emotional statement where he said he had struggled 'physically, mentally and emotionally' in camp and that David had 'broken' him.
David sparked bullying complaints from viewers when Adam, who suffers from autoimmune condition psoriatic arthritis, told his campmates during last Friday's episode that he wasn't feeling well enough to participate in the Termite Terror trial. David took aim at him, saying: 'Who gives a s**t if he doesn't feel well. He's a grown-ass man. I don't like guys who are a bit useless. I hate them useless guys. He is useless.' As Adam suggested he wouldn't eat that night as a result of backing out, his campmates refused to let that happen. However, David chimed in suggesting 'his portion should be a little bit smaller than everyone else’s'. Adam confronted David over his reaction to his dinner portion, calling him over and saying: 'Right, me and you outside now.' Irritated David responded: 'We got a lot less than we would have had,' as the dessert was served up, to which Scarlett Moffatt ended the row, saying: 'Leave him alone.'
I'm A Celebrity hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly said they were left 'uncomfortable' by the exchanges in rare comments on spin-off series Unpacked. Ant said: 'It's not a nice watch. He just kind of picks and picks at them. Adam has had a bit of a tough time and he's not coping well. Clearly the banter has got too much. But David won't stop.' Dec agreed: 'It's kind of crossed the line from banter. I don't find it comfortable to watch.'
After leaving camp, David told the hosts on his relationship with Adam: 'No bad blood from my side. Look, I've been immersed in tough boxing gyms since I was ten years old. Literally fighting daily, much bigger men than myself, pushing myself to the limits, physically and mentally. I won the world heavyweight championship against a seven-foot Russian giant. When a grown man tells me that a fun TV show - where we're being paid handsomely every single day - is the hardest thing he's ever been through, it's just not a frequency I recognise. I was actually on my best behaviour there, honestly.'
I'm A Celebrity... South Africa airs weeknights at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
