Made in Chelsea’s Sam Thompson has officially been crowned king of the jungle. He was voted the winner of this year's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! on Sunday evening (December 10), beating former boxer Tony Bellew and ex-UK Independence Party (UKIP) and Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage.
The three finalists were among 12 celebrities who entered the Australian jungle three weeks ago for the ITV reality show.
Thompson said he was "really overwhelmed" by his win. "I didn't think I was even going to be invited on to this show, let alone be sat here [on the winner's throne]," he said.
"I am so grateful, thank you so much. I've dreamed of doing this show and being invited on for years and years, and you've just made a boy's dream come true."
Thompson's ebullient personality drew a mixed reaction from viewers.
One post on X, formerly Twitter, said he was "the noisiest and most annoying [campmate]".
But Dominic wrote on the social media platform: "I don’t think a single person has ever carried a show on their back like Sam Thompson in this year's #ImACeleb — there’s an argument he’s the best contestant they’ve ever had."
Earlier during Sunday's final, he said being on the show had been "like a dream that I don't even want you to wake me up from".
"I've had the best time and I'm the luckiest person in the world," he told hosts Ant and Dec.
So who is Sam Thompson? Here's the lowdown on the reality star.
Who is Sam Thompson?
The London-born star, 31, made his name as a regular on E4’s Made in Chelsea, on which he appeared from 2013 to 2021. His sister Louise also appeared on the show.
He has also appeared on reality shows such as Celebrity Big Brother, Celebrity Ghost Hunt, Celebs Go Dating, The Celebrity Circle, and Celebrity Fifteen to One, among others.
He is also a presenter of Love Island: Aftersun — the reality show that made his girlfriend Zara McDermott famous. The pair have been together since 2019, and their relationship has survived an infamous cheating scandal.
This autumn, McDermott competed on Strictly Come Dancing (a show Thompson has not entered… yet) before being eliminated in October. “I feel like I’m more nervous than Zara is,” he admitted in September, before her appearance on the BBC One show. “I’m not doing it, but you just want someone to do well so badly that I’m almost more nervous.”
Since last year, Thompson has presented a show on Greatest Hits Radio. Earlier in 2023, he fronted a documentary about his experience of having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on E4. Thompson was the bookies’ second favourite to win I’m A Celebrity behind This Morning presenter and 2010 Big Brother winner, Josie Gibson.
However, she was voted off the show on Saturday to leave Thompson, Bellew and Farage in the final three.
