Adam Thomas being crowned the I’m A Celebrity… South Africa winner was one of the most gut-wrenching things I’ve ever watched – and I was desperate for him to win.
I’m A Celebrity’s explosive spin-off series finally went live last night, and it delivered a level of uncomfortable chaos not seen on television since the most problematic days of Celebrity Big Brother that belong in the past.
It very quickly became a battle of male ego, with one clear loser: David Haye. The man who arguably ruined this series of I’m A Celebrity… South Africa seemed hell-bent on derailing its final too.
But it was always going to be a rocky show. In the days leading up to last night, I’m A Celebrity aired the moment Haye was evicted from the bush amid claims he’d been ‘bullying’ Adam. The next day, Adam landed in another row – this time with Jimmy Bullard.
This, however, was no ordinary argument.
Get personalised updates on I’m A Celeb
Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.
Bullard quit I’m A Celebrity entirely mid-challenge, which would have forced Adam to leave with him – a particularly bitter pill to swallow after already being given such a hard time by Haye.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Tensions between the pair were seismic. Adam called Jimmy a “c**t”, with the former footballer since claiming it was intimidating behaviour – an accusation which appeared to divide the camp in two. Clearly, this row wasn’t as black and white as we thought.
Their reunion last night was always going to be tense, but it teetered on becoming unbearable television. Adam was clearly deflated; Jimmy was desperate to be heard. I ended up just feeling sorry for both of them.
Jimmy was frantic – far too frantic for live television. Squaring up to Ant and Dec and pleading for them to agree with him was unpleasant for viewers, uncomfortable for everyone around him, and clearly unbearable for Adam.
Could you blame him, though? Until last night, we’d hardly heard a peep from Jimmy while he’d been criticised for days.
Adam just wanted to be anywhere else when this should have been one of the best nights of his life. He even apologised to Jimmy, taking full accountability, but it got lost amid more needless snipes from Haye, who sat behind him.
What could have been a fairly amicable reconciliation was derailed by Haye’s insufferable ego. He seemed pathetically desperate to be the star of the show, despite the fact that this row had nothing to do with him – in fact, he was one of the few campmates who wasn’t even there.
His uninformed and completely unwarranted interventions became so grating that even Ant and Dec lost their cool – a rare break in character for a pair who’ve built a career on being unfailingly positive and, more importantly, neutral. If Ant and Dec are coming for you, you know you’ve gone too far.
This series was so much fun – it had everything. A mountain of meme-worthy moments from Gemma Collins; a more-than-worthy winner in Adam Thomas; and a cast with chemistry so electric I could have happily watched them for another three weeks. Well, with the exception of David Haye.
From the very first episode, Haye unravelled to reveal the very worst of himself. From his ‘ugly bird syndrome’ theory – which he still stands by – to calling Beverly Callard “dead weight”, and his relentless digs at Adam, he felt like a throwback to a kind of reality TV villain best left in the past. All the more remarkable given he finished third on I’m A Celebrity back in 2012.
He turned this I’m A Celebrity into a playground. In the absence of a ring, he still needed to fight it out with competitors – even when the only prize was being crowned an I’m A Celebrity Legend. As if Gemma Collins isn’t the biggest I’m A Celebrity legend of all time, regardless.
His attitude was appalling, if not surprising – bearing in mind this is the man who blamed losing the biggest fight of his life on a broken pinky toe.
When the final should have been defined by its worthy winner, it was instead overshadowed by the series’s biggest loser. It quickly became clear Haye shouldn’t have been there at all – but he was, and the entire night suffered for it.
Reality television once thrived on drama like this, but in 2026, it just felt sad, unnecessary, and a poor reflection of what has otherwise been a surprisingly strong run for I’m A Celebrity and ITV.
I dread to think what moves David Haye will make next; I imagine his days on television are numbered.
As for Adam, he deserves to celebrate his win without guilt or shame. Even with a shoddy elimination system – which must be fixed if I’m A Celebrity… South Africa returns – he would have won by a landslide: for his resilience, his joy, and for being the man David Haye could never be.
I’m A Celebrity… South Africa is available to stream on ITV Hub.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.