I'm A Celebrity Dismisses Adam Thomas 'Favouritism' Claims

ITV has responded to accusations of favouritism following the chaotic I’m A Celebrity: South Africa finale.

On Friday night, the cast of the all-star I’m A Celebrity came together for a special live reunion, during which contestants Jimmy Bullard and David Haye claimed that the show – which was pre-recorded last year, and aired on ITV over the last month – was edited to make Adam Thomas appear, in the former boxer’s words, “look like a victim”.

Jimmy specifically took issue with the coverage of a blazing row he and Adam had towards the end of their time in camp, during which the soap star repeatedly called him a “cunt”, which did not make it into the final edit.

When the former footballer raised this at the reunion, hosts Ant and Dec pointed out that Adam’s language had been “unbroadcastable”, with ITV insisting at the time: “We show an accurate and fair representation of events.”

Since the final, a representative for the broadcaster told The Mirror: “Suggesting ITV favours anyone is an incorrect and harmful accusation. All campmates were invited to the live finale to celebrate the series and to share their thoughts, individually and collectively.

“Once all campmates were invited on stage, Ant and Dec spoke to Jimmy first; he arguably received the most airtime during this part of the show.”

During the final, viewers chose Adam as the winner of the show, ahead of runner-up Sir Mo Farah, meaning the soap star is the second former contestant to be crowned an I’m A Celebrity “Legend” after Myleene Klass in 2023.

Following the broadcast, both Jimmy and David claimed they’d been ejected from the I’m A Celebrity studio.

A show source told HuffPost UK: “Some campmates were uncomfortable being on stage with David and Jimmy, so we sent them home during Unpacked.”

I’m A Celebrity will return to our screens for its regular series, filmed in Australia, later this year.