Im a Celebrity… South Africa viewers have hit out at presenters Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly’s decision to ‘bend the rules’ following Jimmy Bullard and Adam Thomas’ feud.
Former Premier League footballer Bullard and actor Thomas became embroiled in a heated exchange during a Bushtucker Trial in Tuesday’s episode.
Aired footage showed Thomas screaming at the former Wigan, Fulham and Hull City midfielder before a lengthy argument ensued.
This stemmed from Bullard refusing to take part in the pair’s Bushtucker Trial, instantly saying, “I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!”, after initially telling Ant and Dec he wasn’t “feeling it”, while Thomas completed his part of the trial.
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Thomas thought Bullard pulling out of the trial meant he too would be forced to exit the show, which provoked him to react angrily, kicking the door of a cage before shouting: “Are you f****** taking the p***?”
Bullard replied: “Whoa, whoa, whoa — calm down, that’s pathetic!”, before Thomas called him a “p****”.
“I’ve done all that… for him to say ‘I’m A Celeb’,” the actor added as he walked off set, while a barrage of expletives was edited out.
Later in the show, Thomas confronted Bullard once more, saying: “If you wanted to go, then f****** go — don’t take me with you.
“Tell me why! All you had to do was run through some f****** mud and you said, ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’”
Bullard defended his decision, explaining: “It ain’t about that, I wanted to go home.”
Thomas responded: “Well, go home then – in camp!
“Don’t do it on my f****** watch.”
“I choose when I come and I choose when I go,” Bullard insisted, after Thomas claimed: “I don’t f****** quit, you p****.”
The Sun has reported that the pair have not spoken since the incident.
Fans slam I'm a Celeb 'rule bend'
Meanwhile, fans have also waded in with their thoughts after Ant and Dec decided Thomas should remain in camp, despite the forfeit for the trial usually meaning both participants would be forced to leave.
One said: “Umm, they can’t change the rules for Adam. The rules were the rules, and the rules were clear, no matter how weird Jimmy behaved. It’s not about fairness. Even Adam himself knows they changed the rules for him. It’s clear the producers want Adam to win.”
Another added: “It might not seem ‘fair’, but you can’t just change the rules and save Adam because Jimmy didn’t give it a go… rules are rules.
“Giving the choice to the campmates so you can blame the rule change on ‘well the camp said he could stay’ is a cop-out.”
A third claimed: “Not Adam’s biggest fan, I don’t get Jimmy on this one. Knowing you’re both probably going to leave, Jimmy should leave before the challenge. Also, Jimmy was a bit patronising.
“That said, Adam should have left as per the rules. Honestly, I think Jimmy did it to get him out.”
While a fourth said: “So we now know the rules can be changed if it doesn’t suit the programme #imacelebrity. Adam Thomas should have gone — those were the rules, and his reaction should have been addressed too.”
Luke Davies