An ex-I’m a Celebrity contestant has finally lifted the curtain on a secret surrounding the making of the reality show.
Phil Tufnell first appeared on the ITV show 20 years ago, winning the second series back in 2003, and returned for the All-Stars version, which was filmed in South Africa in 2022 and broadcast earlier this year.
Now, weeks before the new series is due to begin, the retired cricketer has revealed there is one arduous task the contestants don’t have to perform despite it being made to look like they do.
Writing in his new memoir, titled The Tourist: What Happens on Tour Stays on Tour ... Until Now!, Tufnell said that, while celebrities have to eat creepy crawlies and go face-to-face with rats and snakes during grimy Bushtucker Trials, the show’s producers let them off the hook when it comes to emptying the toilet in camp.
In a passge obtained by MailOnline, Tufnell wrote: “I stuck to the dunny – believe me, an unenviable task. I’d literally have nightmares about it – tripping as I was carrying it away and being consumed by a cascading torrent of celebrity sewage.”
He then said: “A little secret here – the contestants remove the dunny, but don’t actually empty it. They carry it down to a camouflaged wooden hut, tap on the door and clear off.
“It’s basically an extreme version of that old knock-and-run game where you wrap a bit of dog muck in newspaper, set it on fire, drop it by someone’s front door, ring the bell, and leg it.”
In the All-Star series, ufnell was a finalist alongside Fatima Whitbread, Jordan Banjo and eventual winner Myleene Klass. He formed a close friendship with Happy Mondays star Shaun Ryder during his return to the jungle.
Back in 2003, Tufnell won the series over runner-ups John Fashanu and Linda Barker.
The series is set to return for a nerw instalment later this month, with rumoured contestants including the usual crop of soap stars, TV presenters and, after Matt Hancock’s appearance last year, a controversial politician.
Phil Tufnell on ‘I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'— (ITV)
Find the full list of rumoured celebrities here.
Tufnell’s The Tourist: What Happens on Tour Stays on Tour ... Until Now! is out now.
