I'm A Celebrity...South Africa is nearing its conclusion, with one star set to be crowned jungle legend in the live final on Friday night. ITV will air the decisive episode on April 24, as viewers choose the winner from finalists Harry Redknapp, Mo Farah, Craig Charles, and Adam Thomas.
Craig Charles opens up on This Morning
Ahead of the finale, three of the finalists appeared on This Morning to speak with hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary. However, the conversation quickly turned to Adam Thomas, who was absent from the interview, as Craig wasted no time addressing the explosive row between Adam and Jimmy Bullard that occurred earlier this week.
Craig highlighted that Adam's outburst was a reaction to ongoing tensions in camp with David Haye, who had been making constant remarks to the soap star. He explained that he chose to save Adam during one episode over David because he felt things had gone too far.
Craig commented: "That brings us to the Jimmy incident; they watered down the Jimmy Bullard incident. It was unbroadcastable as it was. It was deeply traumatic, and it was really upsetting."
He added: "Adam was so wound up, he was so aggressive, it looked like he was going to attack Jimmy, he was dropping F bombs and C bombs."
Craig claimed that the full scene of Adam's row with Jimmy was not aired, which made it appear as though he and Harry were overreacting. Becoming emotional, he said: "They didn't water down our responses. So people are thinking, 'It wasn't that bad, why are they picking on Adam?' We weren't picking on Adam at all, we saved him again because I thought Adam was my friend."
Emotional revelations
He told the hosts that he remembers his time in the jungle as joyful, but the clips being shown have painted a different picture. With a breaking voice, Craig shared: "I voted to get David out, and then I thought it'd be great, but then the Jimmy Bullard thing kicked off. No one has asked about Jimmy's feelings, again, ITV have a duty of care, because David had bullied him so much he exploded on Jimmy," he claimed.
Alison quickly gave Craig a hug, noticing he was welling up, and said: "I'm going to give you a hug because that was a big thing." Through tears, Craig added: "These guys (Mo and Harry) by association have suffered reputational damage. With the social media campaign, they've given this 80-year-old man abuse on social media just because he said, 'I don't like the way that Adam reacted.'"
Alison highlighted that this is the problem with shows that are edited in a certain way, suggesting that this week must have been "hell" for them all.
The live final of I'm A Celebrity...South Africa airs on Friday April 24 at 7:30pm and 10pm on ITV1 and ITVX. This Morning is available to watch on ITV weekdays from 10am.
