I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! South Africa season two's crowned winner, Adam Thomas, has issued a response to the drama after walk offs, explosive arguments, and absolute chaos took over the Live finale yesterday (24 April).
After spending weeks in the jungle together, the celebrity all-stars had a less than positive ending to the ITV staple, after actor Thomas was crowned in London - which caused a ruckus.
The rather chaotic final followed his public drama with footy legend Jimmy Bullard, which saw the former player blow up at Thomas, slate his behaviour as 'abusive, aggressive and intimidating', and ultimately refusing to shoot the last part of the show.
But before that, David Haye had hit out over whether Thomas was a deserving I'm A Celeb winner, and it got messy... to say the least, and at one point, Bullard claimed he wouldn't show for the final episode.
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After keeping things relatively hush hush after claiming the show didn't show 'everything' in regard to his Bullard argument, Thomas has now issued an official statement on the controversy.
Taking to his Instagram account, the Waterloo Road alum revealed how the show impacted him emotionally, and how he took steps to stay true to himself.
Having been called 'the victim' by Haye, issuing a comment on getting bullied, soaps star Craig Charles alleging that Thomas looked like he was going to 'attack Jimmy' in the jungle, and finally seeing Bullard face-to-face one last time as all the celebs regrouped for the Live show...this season has had more drama than any other combined.
Now, if you missed the broadcast, here's a recap: Sinitta and Gemma Collins walked off the set; Bullard demanded ITV 'show it' - aka the full bust-up between him and Thomas as he claimed 'C-bombs' weren't shown; Bullard called out Ant and Dec for having 'front row seats' to the argument; Hayes piped up constantly about the drama; all of this happened in front of a stunned audience.
At one point, Bullard and the hosts were seen having an argument over what was broadcasted by ITV and what wasn't.
"They didn't show none of the C-bombs, it's a liberty," the footballer said as he argued with the hosts.
To this, Ant claimed the full comments made by Thomas couldn't be released as they were 'unbroadcastable'.
Thankfully, Ant and Dec managed to diffuse things and the episode ended in a calm manner (against the odds), this allowed the cast to go home and decompress.
For Thomas, this seems to have been a moment where he was able to put all of his thoughts about the situation into words, as he wrote for his fans just this morning (25 April) about the messy time in South Africa and Live show: "I walked through this journey with my heart first, no matter what came my way…It was not always easy, there were moments that could have broken me, but I stayed true to myself and that is something I will always be proud of.
"I have realised that when people try to dim your light, it says more about them than it ever will about you."
He continued: "This experience has shown me my strength in ways I never imagined. Not because of any title or recognition, but because I stayed kind, I stayed grounded and I stayed real.
"Family means everything to me, and there is one person who has been my rock through it all. Happy birthday to my Beautiful wife, you have stood by me when things were tough and reminded me of my strength when I needed it most. I would not be who I am without you.
"To everyone who supported me, who believed in me and showed love, thank you, it means more than I can ever put into words.
"And to those who doubted me or tried to bring me down, I carry no negativity towards you. I have already won in the ways that matter most. I have love, I have happiness and I have stayed true to myself, and that is something no one can ever take away from me.
"I hope one day you can do the same."
Some of the most memorable feuds of I'm a Celebrity
Janice Dickinson and Lynne Franks
Two very large personalities went head to head in 2007's I'm a Celeb with their constant arguing.
Writer Lynne eventually snapped at the former model, saying in tears: "You’re one of the most horrible people I’ve ever encountered."
And then, in the most Janice Dickinson-style ever, the America's Next Top Model judge called Lynne a 'witch' and threatened to fry up her ‘big old boobs’ and serve them to the campmates.
Kim Woodburn and Katie Price
The late Kim Woodburn was well known for her fiery personality, and in 2009 when she was on I'm a Celeb with glamour model Katie Price, this was very much showcased.
Kim was quick to show some honesty when Katie asked the camp what they thought of her, saying: "You live and die for publicity and you do it well. As Shakespeare once said, 'We fear you protesteth too much'.
"You know full well you’ve got 10 to 12 million people watching every night and you know, madam, you’ll be all over the papers every day. Now stop it. Stop your nonsense."
Kim also said 'for some reason' the British public 'love' Katie and if she had 'her looks, she'd do it'. And as in 'do it', she meant pose in a bikini for the papers.
Edwina Currie and Kendra Wilkinson
In the 2014 stint of the reality show, former politician Edwina Currie and TV personality Kendra Wilkinson butted heads several times.
While the pair didn't ever have a dramatic bust up, resentment clearly built up during their time in the Aussie jungle, with former Playboy bunny Kendra taking a swipe at her campmate upon her eviction.
"My God. I have no sympathy towards her," she said of Edwina.
Speaking further about comments made about her, Kendra said: "She’s a coward because she can’t say that to my face. She might want to grow a heart and learn how to learn about others. I don’t come from luxury like her.
"I mean she’s gross, she’s a gross person. To be honest with you I won’t even be able to look at Edwina again."
Edwina later went on to swipe back, saying that Kendra 'isn't even a proper celebrity'.
Lady Colin Campbell and Tony Hadley
I think we all remember where we were when this one kicked off in 2015.
It all started when Lady C, a socialite who's best known for being a Royal Family fanatic, threw a beetle the camp had found in the open fire - much to the dismay of Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley.
When he called out the TV personality for doing that to the 'beautiful beetle', she responded by saying: "I don’t need any input from you... You are a hypocritical pretentious arsehole. I’ve had enough of you. It’s none of your f**king business, a***hole."
She went on: "You’re a chippy oik with a mouth of diarrhoea. My opinion of you is that you are the lowest of the low, a bore. Let me tell you something, boy, you are of no significance to me. You’re so used to creeps and dollybirds, tarts.
"You don’t even have a good voice."
Andrew Maxwell and Ian Wright
When the 2019 camp erupted in a sexism row while preparing dinner, Irish comedian Andrew Maxwell accused footballer Ian Wright of 'singling him out'.
"You keep shouting at me Ian," he said, which prompted Ian to hit back: "Who is shouting, when did I shout? I wasn’t even talking to you, what did I say?"
After arguing, the pair eventually hugged it out - a rarity for these campside feuds - with Andrew saying: "I’m sorry, I’m really tired, I don’t know, I’m really tired… I’m not going to cry, I’m sorry."
Topics: Im A Celebrity, Celebrity, ITV
Britt Jones