A brand new all-stars series of I’m a Celebrity has barely started, and already Coronation Street star Beverley Callard has threatened to “chin” former professional boxer David Haye.
On Monday (6 April), the second series of I'm A Celebrity… South Africa welcomed back previous contestants, including Scarlett Moffatt, Sinitta and Gemma Collins, three years after Myleene Klass won the first.
But Haye, 45, immediately lost a fan in Callard by making a decision she promised he was going to regret: when given the chance to pick a team member out of Callard, 69, and ex-Gogglebox star Moffatt, 35, he opted for Moffatt, stating that Callard’s age would hold her back from succeeding in Bushtucker trials.
Haye’s teammates appeared hesitant to make the same decision, considering Callard would be living on rations in basic camp, Savannah Scrub, but he was adamant, telling them: "It's survival. We've got to eat."
Callard was left unimpressed with the reasoning behind Haye’s decision, telling him: "Up yours – I will get my own back.”
She also told Haye he was “going to pay for that decision”.
Later, while reflecting on the situation, she told fellow Corrie star Adam Thomas: “I’ve been a fan of his for years and years and years, but not anymore, I tell you. I was thinking, ‘You’re going to get it, mate, you are going to get it’.
“I’ve thought about this, over the hours, thinking that I’m going to chin him and all the rest of it.”
Thomas replied: “Please don’t chin David Haye.”
Even Moffatt questioned Haye’s decision, telling him: “I did appreciate you picking us, but I just think anyone of the age for a free bus pass shouldn’t be sent to Savannah Scrub.”
Callard, who played Corrie’s Rovers Return bartender Liz McDonald for three decades on the ITV soap, previously said she was excited to take part in the series because when she participated in 2020, the show was filmed in Wales due to Covid.
She said she “loved it all”, but added: “Wales was so different. We didn’t get to experience the Australian jungle and the bedroom was minus one [degree],” she said.
Since filming in South Africa, Callard has faced a major health shock, having revealed in February that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and swiftly undergoing surgery.
She has since returned to work, and appeared at the I'm A Celebrity... South Africa launch event.
It's been 14 years since boxer Haye appeared in the jungle, finishing in third place to Charlie Brooks.
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