Adam Thomas may have been crowned the winner of I’m A Celebrity South Africa, but viewers watching the final on Friday were less than impressed with how the show went down
I’m A Celebrity has been plunged into problems following the live final on Friday evening (April 24).
Viewers watched on in horror as the show descended into chaos, with celebrities walking off the set of the show. Jimmy Bullard and David Haye’s brutal slamming of Adam Thomas also caused controversy surrounding the row engulfing the three of them.
Now, ITV is dealing with the ramifications of the awkward live show, as Ofcom has confirmed it has received over 1,000 complaints from worried viewers. It comes winner Adam has shown he was unhappy with the show, believing he was “exploited” by producers.
Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom revealed that many fans of the hit ITV reality show were horrified at what they saw, as Jimmy blasted Adam for his expletive-laden tirade which he claimed was “abusive, aggressive and intimidating”. Tensions soon reached boiling point as Adam was left speechless as David and Jimmy claimed he was not a deserving winner.
Now, Ofcom has said that over 1,000 people watching the show officially complained to the authority, believing ITV had broken the broadcasting code for showing the arguments. While hosts Ant and Dec attempted to keep everyone calm, they too were drawn into the drama, with Ant even dismissing Jimmy’s claims.
Jimmy would go on to allege that the worst parts of the argument between him an ex-Emmerdale star Adam were “edited out”, a move he said was a “liberty”. David also piled onto Adam, saying he had been edited to look like “a victim”, with Ant and Dec stepping in to say they would “agree to disagree”.
The footballer would later claim that “c-bombs” were lobbed his way on several occasions during the argument, which ITV did not show. Ant and Dec insisted they were “unbroadcastable” comments, so did not air them, despite Jimmy’s assertions.
Ofcom would later reveal that during the tense live final, 1,187 complaints were received about the programme. But this was not the first time the show has caught Ofcom’s attention during the controversial series.
Just weeks previously, Ofcom confirmed 171 complaints had been received over comments made by David towards Adam. David could be heard branding Adam “useless” as he said he could not take part in a trial due to his health, which event Ant and Dec said were “uncomfortable to watch”.
Meanwhile Adam, who apparently smashed his flower crown up after cameras stopped rolling, has claimed he felt “exploited” by the channel over what happened. Reflecting on his experience in the latest episode of his podcast, he said he wants to leave everything behind.
“It’s hard, the whole experience,” he explained. “That live show, I just felt like I’d just been exploited, and I think you can see it, at the end of it. I felt like I was in the midst of it all, and it wasn’t even about me.”
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