The second star to be eliminated from I’m a Celebrity has addressed being treated “unprofessionally” by Ant McPartlin.
In the early stages of Dean McCullough’s time on the ITV series, McPartlin couldn’t hide his frustration with the Radio 1 star, who was repeatedly voted to do the grisly Bushtucker Trials.
After feeling “disappointed” with the Radio 1 DJ for his performance in the first two trials, McPartlin, in an uncharacteristic move, told the campmate he was “not trying properly” and told him to “try harder” when he quit another.
McPartlin also gave McCullough a stern talking to ahead of time, stating: “Now Dean, I want to have a word with you. What happened yesterday? No stars. What happened the day before? You said ‘I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here.’ You can only change the narrative by sticking with it and getting on with it.’
At the time, the radio host said he felt like he was “being told off by Ant and Dec”, with McPartlin’s co-host Donnelly declaring himself “good cop”.
McPartlin addressed his reaction on ITV2 aftershow I’m a Celebrity: Unpacked, admitting his frustrations get the better of him. He said: “My annoyance came across on screen and I was quite unprofessional. You get to the point where you’re like, What are you doing?’”
He said he “got quite annoyed at one point” as he thought: “If you can’t do it, you can’t do it, but just get on with it – just try it.”
McCullough was asked about the matter on Monday (2 December) after being eliminated from the jungle, with Good Morning Britain’s Susanna Reid calling it “tough love” and stating: “He was a bit angsty with you, wasn’t he?’
The contestant replied: “I believe he was, yeah,” adding: “When Ant was telling me off for saying ‘I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here’ – I felt it was a proper telling off. I feel like he meant it.
“So I did what I was told and I wanted to win him back around, which I think I did in the end.”
McCullough’s performance in the trials, of which he did seven, greatly improved – and McPartlin even gave him a handshake after he won 10 stars for camp.
New episodes of I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! air on ITV1 and ITVX every night at 9pm.
