After this year’s series of I’m A Celebrity… South Africa descended into angry rows and recriminations, campmate Craig Charles has lifted the lid on what happened behind the scenes of the live final

While the experience of being stuck in the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! camp can can often bring celebrity contestants together, last Friday’s final was overshadowed by a bitter row. After Adam Thomas and Jimmy Bullard fell out during one of the show’s trials in South Africa, matters quickly escalated with David Haye joining the argument on live TV.

Waterloo Road actor Adam blamed footballer Jimmy Bullard for putting his future on the show in jeopardy, when he abandoned the Bushtucker Trial they were taking part in as a duo to achieve immunity from losing their place in camp. However, Adam’s fury over Jimmy’s decision led the former sportsman to accuse the soap star of ‘abusive, aggressive and intimidating’ behaviour.

As the mood became increasingly hostile while the stars revisited the dramatic moment during the final, The X Factor’s Sinitta and TOWIE star Gemma Collins seemed to storm off the set. Meanwhile, hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly did their best to smooth things over before Adam was finally crowned the public’s King of the Jungle.

On his BBC Radio 6Music Funk & Soul show, I’m A Celebrity… South Africa star Craig Charles sprang to Adam’s defence, pointing out that the actor had already made a “fulsome” apology for snapping at Jimmy after the trial.

Referring to Friday’s angry and chaotic final, Craig said: “And then what happened to Adam last night, our new jungle legend, that’s bang out of order. That was bullying. It was bang out of order, what happened to him. He looked so upset. I have never seen someone so unhappy to win anything.”

Craig stressed that he, alongside fellow finalists Harry Redknapp and Sir Mo Farah, hadn’t really grasped to full intensity of the situation while the show was actually being filmed, referencing Adam’s back and forth banter with boxer David Haye: “We didn’t really know how much Adam was struggling to be honest, because he was giving as good as he got most of the time”

The turning point had come during the “Rancid Run” trial, when one celeb was required to retrieve cogs from an abacus using only their tongue. As the trial got underway, Jimmy seemed paralysed with fear.

He confessed: “Boys, I don’t think I’ve got it in me…”, as Adam successfully moved the first cog through the abacus. Proceedings came to a dramatic halt when Jimmy called out: “I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!”

Adam was incandescent with rage about Jimmy’s decision, as it appeared to mean he would also have to leave the show, because they were competing as a team at that point. The two then got into a heated discussion before Adam broke down sobbing over potentially having to leave camp, before the producers, and his fellow campmates, allowed the actor to stay on while Jimmy left.

But addressing, the moment when, as Craig put it, Adam “had a little wig-out in the jungle where he lost his temper a little bit, with Jimmy,” the radio host clarified Adam had accepted that he’d been in the wrong: “He made a fulsome apology to Jimmy Bullard. There’s not much more that man can do.

“He’s put his hands up and said, ‘I was a bit out of order… I’m sorry, I really apologise’,” Craig added.

Craig was a friend of Adam’s before going into the jungle, recalling how he had attended the funeral of the Emmerdale star’s father Dougie James back in 2022. As Craig started his Saturday night 6Music show, he sent a message of encouragement, saying: “If you’re listening, Adam, have a dance, forget about it. You’re a jungle legend. Life moves on.

“Sorry for your pain, and your trouble… Congratulations, mate. You’ll come to enjoy it. You are a jungle legend.”