I'm A Celeb's Matty Lee hits out at ITV show as he swipes bosses 'treat stars like crap'

Matty Lee claims I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! stars are “treated like crap” by show bosses in the production process.

The Olympic diver, who shot to fame as Tom Daley’s professional partner before appearing on the 2021 series of the ITV reality show, sat down with Daily Star Online to discuss his time in Gwrych Castle – and it isn’t as exciting as it looks.

Going into the series was a shock for the Olympic gold medal winner, as he explained: “I’m an athlete, I’m not a TV person, so I didn’t know what to expect at all.

“One thing that shocked me was how controlled it is, more than I thought it would be. It is a TV show at the end of the day, if we’re all sat there doing nothing they would say over the tannoy, ‘Well do something!’

“No, they wouldn’t actually say it like that, but they’re in control. It’s like The Truman Show, they are fully in control really.”

He added: “That came as a shock to me because I didn’t know how it was actually run and stuff. Obviously conversations and how I acted were very much me – I was never prompted to ask a certain question or have a certain conversation.”

But that control from show bosses soon led to unhappiness within the camp, with Matty insisting he and his campmates were “treated like crap”.

He went on: “When you go to a [Bushtucker] Trial or challenge – it was really annoying – if I went with Frankie and Danny, we’d probably just want to chat while we were waiting, because they need to set up the studio and make sure Ant and Dec are ready.

“And we’d be held in separate Portakabins because they didn’t want relationships getting built or conversations happening off camera.

“It makes sense, I get it, but you just don’t think of that. Initially I was like, ‘Yeah, I understand’, but you’re a human! And eventually it was like, ‘Why am I getting treated like crap?’ You do, you do get treated… you’re not allowed to do anything.”

Matty explained that for those campmates who smoke, things were even more difficult, as he added: “I don’t smoke, but seeing the people – elderly people, grown men – who do smoke have to ask for permission to go for a cigarette! It was just really weird.”

Matty also opened up about the worst parts about staying in the ITV castle, admitting that he couldn’t get used to being constantly starving with nothing to do.

“The worst parts have to be the hunger and boredom,” Matty said. “When you get told you’re going to do the show and just before it, you’re just so excited. You don’t think about what the hell you’re gonna do in the day.

“There was nothing to entertain yourself with apart from talking to each other and doing a trial or challenge – and at one point I didn’t do anything for three days, so that meant I didn’t leave the camp for three days. It’s so tough.”

He went on: “With the campmates, there’s only so much you can talk about. Initially you’re getting to know each other and you talk about that, and you have a bit of banter and then everyone gets tired at the same time.

“Then there’s nothing to talk about – because usually you’d talk about the weather or what’s going on in life, but we don’t know what’s going on in life. We are living a very boring life!”

Matty lost an incredible five kilograms during his time in the castle, and has been working hard to get his muscle mass in tip-top condition for his diving career.

And one important aspect has been taking part in the #EatMoreDriedFruit campaign to raise awareness of the health benefits of dried fruit.

He explained: “I have a pack of dried sultanas or raisins in between going from the gym to the pool, so I’d use that most of the time.

“Only 30 grams of dried fruit counts as one of your five a day, and as a nation we’re doing terribly at having our five a day!

“That comes from when you buy five of every fruit for your family – there might be four of you, that’s a lot of fruit, and fruit doesn’t hold well, it goes mouldy quite quickly.

“Dried fruit can hold for a long time without putting it in the fridge, so it’s an easy way of getting your five a day in.”

Matty Lee is taking part in the #EatMoreDriedFruit campaign to raise awareness of the health benefits of dried fruit. Just 30g of dried fruit is counted as one of your five a day and contributes to your fibre intake.

Tasty and versatile, dried fruit is a perfect snack between meals, on top of a salads, cereals, yoghurts and in smoothies.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk