Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly caught the attention of some I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here viewers for the wrong reason after their Shaun Ryder joke fell flat. Fans of the ITV reality series tuned in on Monday night (April 24) as a brand new spin-off version got underway.
A number of famous faces who have previously headed Down Under to compete in the jungle-based competition all agreed to go through the trials and tribulations of camp living once again but this time in the brand new setting of Kruger National Park – one of the largest game reserves in Africa located in Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
The challenges are bigger and tougher and the environment harsher and more unforgiving. And with no public vote, they will be competing against each other in a battle to become the first ever 'I'm A Celebrity Legend'.
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Kicking off the new series were Carol Vorderman, Amir Khan, and Jordan Banjo who all faced the first terrifying trial of the series which saw them walk out on the dreaded plank and dangle in the air.
Then, as they introduced the next trio, Ant and Dec threw a savage dig Shaun's way before his scenes aired. Referencing Shaun's previous addiction battle which he has been open and honest about over the years, the Geordie duo joked about the contestants being 'higher than Shaun was in the 90s'.
"Welcome back to I'm A Celebrity...South Africa. So we've met our first three contestants - Carol, Amir, and Jordan. And before they could head into camp, they faced a challenge that meant they would be higher than Shaun Ryder in the nineties," Ant mocked before Dec added: "Wow... wow. That is high."
Following the savage quip, I'm A Celebrity fans headed to social media to share their reaction. One tweeted: "OMG Ant and Dec did not just make that joke about Shaun." Another said: "Ant and Dec went too far with that joke.... christ."
After taking on their first trials of the series, the 'All Stars' cast made their way into camp. Joining Shaun was boxing champion Amir Khan; Diversity dancer and DJ Jordan Banjo; TV presenter Carol Vorderman; Olympic athlete Fatima Whitbread; Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan; former royal butler Paul Burrell; ex-England cricketer Phil Tufnell; and supermodel Janice Dickinson.
And 60-year-old was keen to tell his co-stars like Amir that he wasn't a "tw**" that wore sunglasses when it was dark for the sake of it. He said: "I'm not a tw** wearing sunglasses when it's dark. I've got no eyelashes, so all the sh** gets in my eyes."
But Amir reassured him with a pat on the shoulder, telling the singer: "Oh, don't worry!" Carol, however, seemed shocked as she asked: "What?!" And fans also couldn't believe Shaun's admission about not havning eyelashes and rushed to Twitter to comment on it during the show.
Back in 2019, Shaun explained the reason behind his changed appearance as 'all body his hair falls out'. The Manchester legend spoke to Good Morning Britain and Radio X about being diagnosed with unexplained alopecia following hip surgery. Shaun, said that he has 'no eyelashes, no fingernails, no head, no hair whatsoever', leaving doctors completely baffled.
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