Sam Thompson won the hearts of the nation to be crowned King of the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! jungle – but he’s now claimed he couldn’t keep some of his prizes.
During an appearance on This Morning on Monday (December 18), Sam, alongside recent Strictly Come Dancing champions Ellie Leach and her partner Vito Coppola, made a surprising revelation about his I’m A Celeb experience.
While discussing their respective show memorabilia, Sam disclosed that he was unable to retain any keepsakes from his time on the show, despite his victory. In response to a query from hosts Craig Doyle and Josie Gibson, who was also a fellow campmate and finished fourth on the show, Sam humorously stated: “I didn’t get to keep anything! They wouldn’t let me keep anything!”
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(Image: Tim Merry/Mirror Express)
He went on to reveal that he had to relinquish even the iconic I’m A Celeb crown and sceptre. “I had to give the sceptre back,” he continued, before adding that he “really wanted to bring it through airport security” because of how big it is. “But yeah, I don’t have anything to show for it,” Sam concluded. Meanwhile, Strictly winner Ellie Leach proudly displayed her coveted Strictly Glitterball trophy as Sam sat there empty-handed.
(Image: James Gourley/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
While it is unclear how much Sam earned financially on the show, celebrities are usually paid between £30,000 and £600,000 – with Grace Dent reportedly getting £100,000, and Jamie-Lynn a hefty £250,000. Reacting Nigel Farage’s eye-watering £1.5million payday, Sam told The Times: “It wasn’t monetary, or a career move, I genuinely wanted to go and eat camel’s penis. I wanted to meet Ant [McPartlin] and Dec [Donnelly], they’re my heroes, the most iconic people of my life.”
Despite returning from the jungle without tangible mementos, Sam has plenty of epic memories to take away from his experience. During his time in the Australian wilderness, he forged a strong bond with former boxer Tony Bellow, and the duo quickly became the subject of national fascination with their endearing bromance. The 31-year-old and 41-year-old captivated audiences with their antics, and it looks like their camaraderie continues to thrive beyond the confines of the jungle.
(Image: James Gourley/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Sam has openly expressed his longing for Tony on his Instagram stories, while Tony himself has taken to social media to express his belief that Sam deserved to be crowned the King of the Jungle. The pair ended up in the final together, with Sam narrowly beating Tony to be crowed the King of the Jungle 2023 on 10 December.
Sam recently took to Instagram to share a solemn selfie as he wrote: “Missing you,” and tagging Tony. On his next Instagram story post, Sam could be seen walking with girlfriend Zara McDermott, 27, as he told her what he and Tony used to get up to in the jungle, as he joked: “She wants me to shut up.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
