Entertainment24 April, 20266 min read
Adam Thomas Sparks Heated Row With Jimmy Bullard as Ant and Dec Step In at I’m A Celebrity Final
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Adam Thomas argued with Jimmy Bullard during the live final after near elimination. Ant and Dec stepped in to defuse the row.
All-Stars Final Turns Chaotic
The live final of “I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!” in South Africa erupted into a fresh argument as the all-star cast revisited moments from the drama-packed series, with tensions flaring on Friday during the live feed. The BBC described how “A heated argument broke out among the all-star cast” after actor Adam Thomas launched a tirade at footballer Jimmy Bullard for “almost causing his elimination from camp.” The BBC also reported that hosts Ant and Dec “raised their voices to control the row,” and that singer Sinitta and TV personality Gemma Collins “walk off set” during the confrontation.
In the same BBC account, Thomas was ultimately crowned the public’s king of the jungle, while the cast of finalists included Olympic athlete Sir Mo Farah, boxer David Haye, TV and radio star Craig Charles, and former football manager Harry Redknapp. LBC similarly framed the finale as “Explosive row rocks I’m A Celebrity live final,” saying the argument broke out after Bullard accused the show of “editing out clips.” Indy100 added that the finale “quickly spiralled” when tensions flared between Adam and fellow campmates Jimmy Bullard and David Haye, and said Ant and Dec were forced to step in to restore order after Sinitta and Gemma Collins walked off set.
What Sparked the Fight
Multiple outlets traced the live-final flare-up back to earlier clashes in the series, especially the pre-recorded confrontation in which Jimmy Bullard’s decision during a trial left Adam Thomas furious.
The BBC said Thomas’s row with Bullard came after the pair teamed up for a trial in which “the losing duo would be eliminated,” but Bullard “did not join in and said "I'm a celebrity get me out of here", to forfeit the challenge.”
In the BBC’s account, Thomas responded by launching an “expletive-laden rant” at his partner, telling him he should have quit on his own or not done the show at all, and the BBC noted that “Producers did not show Thomas's full outburst.”
LBC described the same underlying moment as Bullard accusing Thomas of being “abusive, aggressive and intimidating” during the expletive-filled row in the pre-recorded show last year, and it said the “extraordinary exchange concluded an All Stars series plagued by bullying rows and spats between campmates.”
Indy100 quoted Bullard’s description of the clash as “abusive, aggressive and intimidating,” and it also included Thomas’s own words from the trial: “Don’t take me with you. What is up with you? Tell me why? All you had to do was run through some f***ing mud, and you said get me out of here.”
Daily Express added further detail about the live-stage fallout, saying ITV bosses edited large portions of the argument out “due to foul language,” and it quoted Ant confirming: “We did show quite a lot of it but we couldn't show the C-bombs because that's unbroadcastable”.
Ant and Dec, Then the Backlash
As the live final unfolded, the dispute shifted from the original trial argument to claims about what was shown and what was cut, with Ant and Dec repeatedly trying to contain the confrontation.
“Right, let's leave it there. We'll agree to disagree.”
LBC said that during the final, Ant and Dec clashed with Bullard as he asked each campmate—including Sir Mo Farah, Craig Charles, and Harry Redknapp—whether they thought Adam's behaviour was “aggressive and abusive,” and it quoted the ITV presenters telling Jimmy: “‘Right, let's leave it there. We'll agree to disagree.”
The BBC similarly described how Ant and Dec “raised their voices to control the row,” and it added that “Bullard called his reaction "pathetic" and explained that he had quit because he wanted to go home.”
Indy100 reported that Bullard accused ITV of editing footage to make Thomas look like a “victim,” and it also said Ant responded directly to the accusation: “No, it wasn’t, I was there.”
Daily Record and Daily Express both emphasized the “unbroadcastable” nature of parts of the argument, with Daily Record quoting Ant and Dec’s handling of Adam Thomas’ “unbroadcastable” comments and saying Dec told viewers: “There was a lot of stuff which was unbroadcastable which is why, look we will get into this later in the show.”
Daily Express added that Ant insisted on the fairness of what aired, saying: “No, I was there, I was there Jimmy. I was there, and that was a full and fair representation of what happeend.”
After the Win, Emotional Fallout
Even after Adam Thomas was crowned, the fallout continued in the days and episodes that followed, with campmates discussing the emotional impact of the final drama.
The Mirror reported that Ashley Roberts and Gemma Collins shared “heartbreaking reaction” to the Adam Thomas drama, saying the drama “came amid tensions between him, David Haye and Jimmy Bullard during the live final.”
The Mirror quoted Ashley Roberts saying: “I hope Adam enjoys it, I think he's been through so much, and I just hope that he can take a second, because I feel like he doesn't feel like he maybe deserves it because he's won.”
It also quoted Scarlett Moffatt saying: “He does deserve it. It was hard in there, and he was amazing, and he was a friend to us all.”
Gemma Collins was quoted saying: “The best man won! It was positive, like what is such a shame about tonight, I'm just going to tell it how it is.”
Wales Online added that Ashley Roberts revealed she had made a pact with Scarlett Moffatt ahead of Friday’s live final, saying they agreed to “stay close to each other and keep to our own little bubble,” and it quoted Ashley hoping for “a civil ceremony” while admitting “I really don't know what will be going down.”
Editing Claims and Contract Pressure
The controversy around the final also extended into claims about what viewers saw and what might still be revealed, alongside questions about contracts and potential consequences if Jimmy Bullard boycotted the live programme. Daily Record said David Haye called for the row between Jimmy Bullard and Adam Thomas to be addressed as Adam reached the final three, and it described how Haye asked Adam: “Do you think you deserve to win it after calling Jimmy the C-word a couple of times?” Daily Record quoted Ant’s response to Haye’s push for more detail, saying: “There was a lot of stuff which was unbroadcastable which is why, look we will get into this later in the show.”
“Do you think you deserve to win it after calling Jimmy the C-word a couple of times?”
It also included a line about Adam shouting during the heated exchange: “You’re taking the p***!” and it said Haye suggested “a lot of that stuff was cut out,” while Ant replied that it was “unbroadcastable.” Wales Online reported that Ashley Roberts responded to reports that Jimmy Bullard may be contemplating boycotting the final entirely, and it said speculation came after his confrontation with Adam following his withdrawal from the Rancid Run trial. Wales Online further stated that if Jimmy chose to miss the live programme, “reports indicate he could be in violation of the contract he signed prior to travelling to South Africa, potentially placing a portion of his fee in jeopardy.”