In scenes that never made it to air, Declan Donnelly reportedly stepped in to defend his long-time co-host and friend Ant McPartlin after a heated exchange with former footballer Jimmy Bullard during the live final of I'm a Celebrity... South Africa. The drama unfolded on Friday night, with security seen intervening when Bullard appeared to confront McPartlin as he left the ITV studios.
A well-placed source told the Mirror that during an ad break, Donnelly, 50, approached Bullard to act as peacekeeper. The source said: “In the ad break, Dec went over to speak to Jimmy and got close to him. It looked like he stepped in to defend Ant. He was backing him.” However, a representative for Donnelly denied any confrontation, stating: “Dec did not 'confront' Jimmy at any point either during or after the show. Jimmy came up to Dec as he was leaving at the end of the night in the car park and they had a quick chat and all was fine. This was captured by the paps.”
On-Screen Tensions
The on-screen row began when Bullard, 47, repeatedly accused actor Adam Thomas of being “abusive, aggressive and intimidating” during a pre-recorded episode. When Ant McPartlin said he did not notice any intimidating behaviour, Bullard grew enraged. McPartlin firmly stated, “I was there and I didn’t think it was intimidating,” and later added, “No, I was there, Jim.” Donnelly supported his co-host, telling Bullard: “Hang on, let’s come back to you. Emotions were obviously running high.”
The tension escalated when boxer David Haye became involved, prompting McPartlin to remind him that he “wasn’t there.” The awkward atmosphere continued as Sinitta stormed off, followed by Gemma Collins. Other campmates—Craig Charles, Mo Farah, Ashley Roberts, and Scarlett Moffatt—remained seated, visibly uncomfortable.
Backstage Aftermath
An insider revealed that Scarlett Moffatt, who recently announced her second pregnancy, was reduced to tears by the ongoing tension. The source said: “Scarlett and Ashley kept saying it was ‘disgusting’ that things had come to this and were shaking their heads. Scarlett was crying and was consoled by Dec.” Meanwhile, Gemma Collins tried to keep the atmosphere light, with the source adding: “Gemma was the only celeb trying to keep things moving forward. It’s her personality, she was some comic relief.”
Ant and Dec have been friends since meeting on the set of Byker Grove in 1990 and have since presented major shows including Britain’s Got Talent, The X Factor, and I’m a Celebrity. The Mirror has contacted ITV and representatives for Jimmy Bullard and Scarlett Moffatt for comment.
