She was within touching distance of the final so there were shockwaves as former Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan left I'm a Celebrity South Africa. The Rosie Webster actress, from Bury, was eliminated from the 'legends' spin-off of I'm a Celebrity set in South Africa on Wednesday night (May 10) before Friday's final.
Helen, 32, was dropped from the camp along with former EastEnders actor Dean Gaffney just minutes into Wednesday night's episode (May 10) after a race between campmates to stay in camp. After the shock departure of Coronation Street's Andy Whyment and Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo on Monday, followed by Joe Swash in last night's episode, fans reacted in disbelief as more popular campmates were sent home from the all-stars edition of the series.
During her first rocky jungle stint in Australia back in 2012, Helen was voted by the British public to take part in seven bushtucker trials in a row. But this series fans have seen a 'redemption arc' for Helen with hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly also remarking on the change.
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Unlike the regular series in Australia, screened in the run-up to Christmas, there is no public vote. Instead the celebrities have been competing against one another in a series of trials to avoid elimination. As she left the camp, fans made the point that if there had been a vote, Helen might have gone on to win the series. The show was pre-recorded and filmed last September.
@SamjPeck tweeted: "Helen should’ve gone a lot further. It shouldn’t just be down to one challenge to decide who goes. I’ve enjoyed this series but if they do it again they need to rethink the format."
Left competing for a place in the final on Friday are presenter and Diversity dancer Jordan Banjo, Carol Vorderman, former royal butler Paul Burrell, Olympic javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread, musician and broadcaster Myleene Klass and cricketing star Phil Tufnell.
@frozenandsilent asked: "Well now Helen and Dean have gone, literally all the campmates I liked are now out of the jungle. Why am I still watching." And @jadedfweak said: "Helen deserved to be the first jungle legend… i hate it here… the only ones deserving now are Jordan or Myleene."
During her first rocky jungle stint in Australia back in 2012, Helen was voted by the British public to take part in seven bushtucker trials in a row. But this time round fans have seen a different Helen.
After leaving camp she told of the surprising way she prepared to run the gauntlet with tough challenges, by developing a head for heights visiting the Go Ape outdoor adventure experience. "I loved it so much, I really, really did. I just loved every second," she said about the jungle.
"It was so nice to come back a second time and have another chance of doing it. I didn’t actually feel that nervous of the trials. I mean, I did a little bit.
"I just took a totally different approach with the trials this time. I did prep a bit before the show. I worked on a lot of my fears before I went to South Africa. I went to Go Ape a lot! I went about 10 times before I did the show to work on heights and stuff."
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