Craig Charles struggled to contain his emotions as he criticized ITV for 'watering down' the altercation between Adam Thomas and Jimmy Bullard, insisting the camp was unaware that the Waterloo Road actor felt bullied. The 61-year-old I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star's voice cracked and his eyes welled up as he discussed the incident involving Adam, 37, on the show.
Speaking on ITV's This Morning alongside Sir Mo Farah and Harry Redknapp on Friday, Craig addressed the upcoming live finale. Notably absent was Adam Thomas, who was missing from the All Stars finale line-up. Craig, nominated by Mo, 43, and Harry, 79, to explain Adam's absence, launched into an impassioned defense.
Craig revealed that the campmates were unaware of the impact the 'bullying' was having on Adam and suggested ITV 'didn't think he was getting bullied enough to step in.' He detailed the incident between Jimmy and Adam, stating: 'They watered down the Jimmy Bullard incident; it was unbroadcastable as it was. It was deeply traumatic and really upsetting. Adam was so wound up, like a coiled spring, it looked like he was going to attack Jimmy. He was dropping f-bombs and c-bombs. It was traumatic, and they couldn't broadcast it. I'm not blaming ITV; they couldn't put it out. But they didn't water down our responses, so people thought, "Oh, it wasn't that bad, why are they picking on Adam?" We weren't picking on Adam; it was just what he did.'
Addressing the ongoing bullying row between Adam and former boxer David Haye, Craig continued: 'Since we got back, it's been all over social media that Harry, Mo, and I were not there for Adam when he was getting bullied. Let me tell you a story. It started when they were the Rhinos, and me and Adam were Lions, the underdogs. They had David Haye the boxer, Harry the gaffer, Ashley Roberts fit as a fiddle. You had me, a broken-down TV star, Gemma Collins... but we won every challenge and gave them dogs abuse over the fence, ribbing them, jest and banter. We wrecked them. We were relentless, we poked the bear, and then David Haye came back at us. Adam gave as good as he got; he was laughing, and we didn't realise he was being emotionally affected. He never told us. I asked him yesterday, "Why didn't you tell us?" and he said, "I didn't want to appear weak." We didn't know.'
Craig added: 'ITV have a duty of care; they have 24/7 people on high-definition close-ups picking it all out, but they didn't think he was getting bullied enough to step in. They would have stepped in if they thought he was being bullied. We didn't see it until that final morning when I thought David got a bit nasty. I thought, "This is turning into bullying now." On that final morning, I found myself in the perfect position, voting people out. I saved Adam, knowing the other two would not pick David, thereby ensuring David went home. We were there for him; we didn't know the extent of his troubles.'
Struggling to hold back tears, he added: 'I just remember tears of laughter; we laughed so much in that jungle, Adam laughed so much. To come back and see it all reduced to a grudge match, and it wasn't. Nobody has asked about Jimmy's feelings. Again, ITV have a duty of care. Everyone is talking about David bullied Adam so much that he exploded on Jimmy, but you don't get bullied at work and go home and beat your wife up.' As his voice wavered, Alison Hammond stepped up and offered Craig a hug, which he accepted.
Craig continued, pointing to Harry: 'These guys have suffered reputational damage from this social media campaign. They're giving this 80-year-old man dogs abuse on social media just because he said, "I don't like the way Adam reacted." We didn't like the way Jimmy reacted; we didn't like the way Adam reacted.' Alison chimed in: 'That's the problem with edited shows. This was filmed so long ago; I imagine this week has been absolute hell for all of you.' Mo concluded: 'The show is about putting all these people in one room and really getting to know them; it's incredible.'
Mail Online has contacted ITV for comment. The row between Adam and David Haye has escalated, with Adam breaking down and revealing he is in therapy after clashing with the athlete on the show. Adam had a fractious relationship with David during their time in the South African jungle, filmed in September last year. David has been accused of 'bullying' after making swipes at Adam, including branding him 'useless' for excusing himself from a trial due to health reasons. Despite apologising, David later doubled down, calling Adam 'weak' and a 'Chihuahua.' Adam, who has psoriatic arthritis, struggled with fatigue and dehydration in the jungle. David dismissed his condition, saying, 'I didn't know about it, but I couldn't care less. Everyone's got something.'
Adam reflected on his clash with Jimmy, expressing regret. He said: 'It was just really random and unexpected. I didn't see it coming. I don't think I was too happy about it. The fact I felt like I was leaving because of someone else broke my heart more than anything. Emotions can get the better of you in there; in hindsight, I probably wouldn't have reacted that way, but I was really upset.'
