Ant and Dec slam David Haye for ‘crossing the line’ on I’m A Celebrity

David Haye’s time on I’m A Celebrity South Africa is proving to be controversial after his ‘ugly bird’ comments and ‘bullying’ of other campmates.

Even hosts Ant and Dec called out his behaviour, saying they ‘don’t find it comfortable’ to watch the boxer’s antics.

The Hayemaker, 45, originally appeared on the 2012 series, finishing third, but has returned for this second All Stars series, which was pre-filmed last September.

He’s been clashing repeatedly with fellow campmates, which include Gemma Collins, Harry Redknapp, Sir Mo Farah, and Beverley Callard.

Days ago, Adam Thomas, 37, reflected on his time in camp, calling it ‘one of the toughest things I’ve ever been through, physically, mentally, and emotionally.’

He singled out David’s behaviour as a factor for the tense mood in camp, saying the boxer ‘broke’ him and ‘pushed him to his limits’.

On the companion podcast, Ant and Dec agreed and shared that even they were struggling to watch how he ‘picks’ at the other campmates.

Ant said: ‘It’s not a nice watch. He just kind of picks and picks at them.

‘Adam has had a bit of a tough time and he’s not coping well. Clearly, the banter has got too much. But David won’t stop.’

Dec added: ‘It’s kind of crossed the line from banter. I don’t find it comfortable to watch.’

Viewers had voiced similar discomfort, including after Friday’s Bushtucker Trial which Adam declined to do as he wasn’t feeling well.

The former Strictly Come Dancing contestant had a flare-up of psoriatic arthritis, which is an autoimmune condition that causes joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. He was diagnosed in 2023.

However, the Hayemaker said he was a ‘grown-ass man’ so shouldn’t be ‘useless’, adding: ‘I hate them useless guys.’

Last week, in Thursday’s episode, David and the Waterloo Road star clashed considerably after a punishment over some smuggled chocolate.

When the camp was divided, the Rhinos team had won a huge dinner, while the Lions were left on rice and beans for yet another night.

Adam decided to sneak some chocolate in for his hungry campmates, which David moaned was barely worth the effort.

His complaints then doubled when they realised that act had caused two stars to be knocked off their seven-star dinner, which Craig Charles and David had won that day.

Adam offered to skip dinner but his campmates protested – except the boxer who piped up: ‘His portion should be a little bit smaller than everyone else’s, actually.’

As they tucked in, the complaints continued as David loudly branded it a ‘hollow empty gesture’.

In the Bush Telegraph, the soaps star admitted it was hard to deal with his angry campmate as he ‘just doesn’t stop going on about it’.

‘Like “alright, okay, let it go now”,’ he said. ‘And he still keeps going and going, to a point where I’m like I don’t know whether it’s banter or whether he actually believes it.’

David caused his own drama with food when he half-jokingly attempted to steal dinner off the Rhinos, climbing the fence dividing camp to do so despite protests from his team.

This wasn’t the first time David caused a stir in camp, having also been called out for appearing to ‘fat-shame’ Towie star Gemma after also denying her water.

Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Sian Osborne, was forced to speak out after he compared her to an ‘ugly duckling’ and said she has the personality of ‘a proper ugly bird’.

Despite being called ‘sexist’ by viewers and some of the women in the camp, model Sian, 33, insisted it was a ‘compliment’ to her.

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! South Africa continues tonight at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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