Amir Khan has become the third contestant to be eliminated from I’m A Celebrity… South Africa.
The former professional boxer was voted off the ITV reality show on Tuesday, following a secret ballot among campmates for the first time in the show’s history. Hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly revealed the result of the ballot at the start of the episode. Khan said he had had a “great experience” on the show, having overcome his fears of spiders and snakes, but that it was now “time for me to go”.
“I’m really happy, honestly I had such a great experience here – made new friends,” he told McPartlin and Donnelly. “I got three trials, did so well and won a lot of stars for the team. Last time I came on I was scared of snakes, scared of spiders. I’ve overcome these fears… It’s probably one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. Probably better than Australia. I’ve experienced everything I needed to… I’ve achieved what I want to achieve and it’s time for me to go now.”
He added: “Even though I would have loved to have stayed in a little bit longer, sometimes what can happen is, if you stay longer, you can outstay your welcome. It was just a great experience and I’m just glad I had the opportunity.” Throughout his time on the show, Khan participated in various trials including World’s End – the highest trial in the show’s history.
His fellow contestants praised his strength following his exit. "Amir is a king in his domain. He brought strength and was a real life force in this. What a trooper,” former royal butler Paul Burrell told the Bush Telegraph, becoming audibly emotional. Khan’s exit follows the previous departures of TV nutritionist Gillian McKeith and Happy Mondays singer Shaun Ryder last week.
Elsewhere in Tuesday’s episode I’m A Celebrity royalty Joe Swash and Dean Gaffney arrived in the South African bush to face the Flipping Disgusting drinking trial to win treats for their new campmates. The pair arrived secretly on the show, where they were greeted immediately with a Bushtucker trial, described as “one of the most disgusting ever” by ITV.
The pair were made to drink “gruesome concoctions” named after individual campmates in a bid to win treats for them. It involved finishing drinks made of blended cow vagina, maggots, chicken intestines, and testicles, while McPartlin and Donnelly looked on with glee. “I’m really nervous. I feel like I’m doing this for the first time again, which ain’t good,” said actor and TV presenter Swash, 41, who was crowned the winner of the eighth series of the show, ahead of his entrance.
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Ex-EastEnders star Gaffney said: “I’m probably more scared now than I was then.” The 45-year-old is known for one of the most memorable moments of the sixth series of the show during a live trial which saw him putting his head in a bowl for a hair wash with cockroaches while wearing a bathrobe, where the actor could not stop screaming. I’ve grown up a bit since then boys, I’ve got more grey hair now,” he told McPartlin and Donnelly, prior to the start of his first trial.
Tuesday’s episode also saw Carol Vorderman and Fatima Whitbread take part in the Tanks Of Torment challenge. The former Countdown presenter was made to swim through the four sections of the tank collecting stars, which contained various aquatic creatures. Vorderman was unable to fully complete the challenge after a snake made its way into the final air-hole, saying “it’s the one time in my life I’ve been like this about a phobia” – though she still collected seven stars for the camp. "My one real fear is drowning,” she said, adding she did not want to tell other campmates that she had been upset by the experience.
Later Burrell gave his fellow contestants an impromptu lesson on curtseying. I’m A Celebrity… South Africa airs at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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