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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Josh Luckhurst

I'm A Celebrity star reveals he had 'friction' with popular campmate in South Africa

I'm A Celebrity... South Africa star Paul Burrell has revealed that he clashed with a popular campmate during their time on the All Stars series.

The former royal butler made the revelation following the spin-off version of hit ITV show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, where he faced Bushtucker Trials for the first time in 19 years.

I'm A Celebrity... South Africa, hosted by Geordie duo Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, brought back 15 famous faces who had previous entered the Australian rainforest or Welsh castle during show's 21-year history.

One of those was former England cricketer and TV personality Phil Tufnell, who first appeared on the programme in 2003 when he won the second series.

Paul was one of the 15 famous faces to return to I'm A Celebrity (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

And Paul, who finished as runner-up in series four behind comedian Joe Pasquale in 2004, admitted that the pair had a bit of "friction" during their time in South Africa.

In an interview with Slingo, Paul said: "Phil [Tufnell] and I, I had to pick him [for a trial], and he didn’t speak to me. But Phil’s a professional sportsman, so you have to understand the world he comes from."

He added: "He doesn’t like to be defeated, he wants to win all the time, but if the ball is in somebody else’s court, he doesn’t like it; he wants to be holding the ball.

"I understand that dynamic; that’s why we had a bit of friction. Not much, but we joked when we came out, about his wife, who he calls 'the Duchess', and they are a lovely couple.

He admitted there was 'friction' with Phil Tufnell in camp (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

"When you’re in the boiling pot in the middle of a jungle, little things can irritate and boil over, and I think at times you get to a point where the elastic band breaks."

The pair were joined in South Africa by the likes of Happy Mondays singer Shaun Ryder, supermodel Janice Dickinson, Olympic javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread and Coronation Street stars Andy Whyment and Helen Flanagan.

Paul had previously credited I'm A Celebrity for saving his life after medical checks for the show led to his cancer diagnosis.

He was told he had prostrate cancer after a medical check-up ahead of appearing on I'm A Celebrity All Stars flagged he had raised PSA levels.

Paul credited the show for his cancer diagnosis (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Paul, who has been keeping fans up to date with his cancer treatment, has revealed his health diagnosis was down to the show.

Speaking on Lorraine in March, he said: "That show, I’m A Celebrity, literally saved my life.

"Because I went for the medical [and] they found a raised PSA level. I went to my GP and I said to him, ‘Am I still able to do the show?’ And he said, ‘Look, this can wait until you get back [from filming] and when you get back, we’ll continue with the investigations’.

"So when I got back, then I had an MRI scan and then I had a biopsy and then they told me that I had cancer, and then I had to go on the path of treatment."

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