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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Zoe Delaney

Nicola McLean dubs Charlene White's I'm A Celebrity exit chat 'a load of bulls***'

Nicola McLean has accused Charlene White of chatting 'bull****' after being voted off this year's series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

The former glamour model, who enjoyed a stint in the jungle in 2008, says she 'hated' the Loose Women presenter's first interview after leaving camp, in which Charlene, 42, claimed Matt Hancock's arrival ultimately ruined her experience.

Nicola, 41, argues Charlene 'deserved' to be the first celebrity evicted from camp due to the fact the ITV News presenter refused to sleep the RV with Mr Hancock, amid fears appearing to be too friendly with the former health secretary could impact her career.

Speaking to Sue Cleaver before leaving the jungle, Charlene admitted: "I’m an impartial journalist, I can’t be sharing a room with a sitting MP because that just doesn’t sit well with me impartiality wise.

Charlene White has been revealing all about her time on the ITV show since being voted off (ITV)

"And I just think, if he were ever to become minister again how can I sit and question him about anything when I’ve shared a room with him?"

Charlene expanded on her reasoning during her first interview following Friday's eviction, explaining: "Being there and having a laugh and having a joke – that kind of finished when Matt came.

"Because I have interviewed enough of the families who have lost loved ones during the pandemic.

"I am one of those. As soon as he walked in I thought ‘I’m going to be walking a tightrope here’."

Charlene says the politician entering camp ruined her time on the show (James Gourley/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Nicola has taken aim at the Loose Women star's comments (Instagram)

Nicola - who recently shared her thoughts on Katie Price's recent surgery - took aim at Charlene's comments during an Instagram Live chat with the Daily Star on Monday.

"Charlene deserved it and I really hate her exit interview which she came out with it’s a load of bulls***," the media personality declared.

"She should have slept in the RV, she should have told Matt what she really thought, she say said he ruined her jungle experience for her. It didn’t seem like that, hun, because you seemed really pally. She deserved to go."

Charlene feared for her career during the later stages of her jungle journey (ITV)

Nicola went on to claim she wasn't being horrible - admitting to liking Charlene - and added how she wasn't hating on the journalist but feels it was her time to go.

"She said she was worried about her job when she left but you have been true to yourself and if she presented herself well everyone would have understood whereas he [Mr Hancock] has not been held accountable at all," the star continued to muse during the online chat.

Speaking during the interview Nicola wasn't impressed with, Charlene explained how she felt she had to represent bereaved families during her time on the ITV reality show.

Charlene was reluctant to share the RV with Mr Hancock (James Gourley/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

The star admitted: "If I don’t think about them and ask the questions they want to know regarding his reasoning for going into the jungle when we are in the middle of the inquiry into the reaction after the pandemic... then I’m not doing my job.

"It went from me just having a laugh to constantly worrying... whether I would still be taken seriously when it comes to dealing with politicians.

"And whether viewers would think I was being too sympathetic to the Conservative party. I was constantly going through inner turmoil."

Charlene was going through 'inner turmoil' once the MP entered camp (James Gourley/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Mr Hancock - who receives £84,144 a year as a sitting MP - was forced to quit as Health Secretary in June 2021 after breaking coronavirus lockdown rules by conducting an affair in his ministerial office with aide Gina Coladangelo.

The West Suffolk MP played a prominent role in the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and branded anyone ignoring social distancing rules and restrictions as "very selfish" prior to being caught having an extra-marital affair.

Last year, former Downing Street chief adviser Dominic Cummings alleged, "tens of thousands of people died who didn't need to die" during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic due to what he claimed to be "criminal, disgraceful behaviour" within Downing Street under the supervision of Mr Hancock.

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