Premier League Hardman Made I’m a Celeb Campmate ‘Uncomfortable’ With ‘Bullying’
A former Premier League star caused controversy on I'm A Celebrity after leaving a campmate feeling 'uncomfortable' amid accusations of 'bullying'.
The popular ITV reality show has now entered its 25th series, with celebrities including Angry Ginge, Alex Scott and Aitch taking part in the current edition.
From the show getting underway on Sunday, the campmates are usually given around two weeks before the public starts voting them off.
Over the years, several footballers have featured in the jungle, including Wayne Bridge, Ian Wright and Jill Scott, who won the 2022 series.
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And in 2017, the former Wimbledon and Chelsea midfielder Dennis Wise was in the line-up.
But Wise, alongside actor Jamie Lomas and boxer Amir Khan, was accused of ganging up on fellow campmate Iain Lee.
Khan told Lee that his late arrival into the camp "did f*** a lot of things up," a comment that even presenter Dec admitted was harsh.
Later, when Lee headed out for a Bushtucker Trial, Wise admitted he would go "ape s***" if Lee returned without any stars, with each star earning a meal for the camp.
Reflecting on Khan's comments, Lee admitted: “Amir was being an a**hole, just prodding me and making all these jokes, it wasn’t funny, it made me feel uncomfortable.”
Several viewers also took to social media at the time to accuse the celebrities of bullying Lee during his time in the jungle.
Wise, who captained Chelsea to two FA Cup titles, ended up being the sixth celebrity voted off the show.
When he left, he sat down with hosts Ant and Dec to discuss his relationship with Lee.
"He said it twice, 'Get Me Out Of Here', Wise added.
"When they came back and they say, 'Oh I couldn't do it' and they do it twice…
"Everyone was kind of thinking, 'Well, we need to eat'."
Wise also talked through his decision to let Lee and Jennie McAlpine take on a BushTucker Trial, in which the pair earned six meals for the camp.
He said: "There's people who want to promote themselves and go onto other things. "After hearing Iain's letter, I thought, 'You go and do that trial. You need the airtime.'
"There's nothing wrong with that."
After appearing on I'm a Celeb, Wise took on a role at Italian side Como in 2019, initially as a technical consultant.
He later became the club's chief executive in 2021, before leaving the club in 2024 after helping to oversee their promotion to Serie A.
Topics: Im a Celebrity, Premier League
James Taylor