I’m A Celebrity…South Africa star Jimmy Bullard is reportedly taking legal action against ITV following his stint in the jungle.
The former Fulham footballer is said to have sought out a lawyer after he was informed by the broadcaster that his full fee for the show is contingent on his appearance at the finale.
The final episode of the all-stars spin-off is set to take place live in London this Friday and will allow ITV viewers to vote on the winner.
Bullard left during Tuesday night’s show, after a sweary fallout from a double-act Bushtucker Trial with Adam Thomas.
In the trial, Bullard said, ‘I’m a celebrity, get me out of here’ and put himself and his partner Thomas up for the axe. Ultimately, it was only Bullard who went home, becoming the fourth to leave the camp in the South African national park.
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Bullard is now reportedly planning to take legal action if ITV do not pay him his full fee, according to a report in the Daily Mail.
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A source told the newspaper: ‘None of this is Jimmy’s fault.
‘It feels like ITV has taken Adam’s side rather than Jimmy’s. Maybe that’s because they see a working future with him, who knows.
‘But he was left completely baffled at Adam being allowed to carry on.’
It has been claimed that campmates are contractually obliged to attend the series finale, and that failing to do so would result in Bullard sacrificing 20 per cent of his pay.
Negotiations between Bullard and ITV are said to have broken down after returning from South Africa, given that the show’s episodes abroad were filmed last autumn.
Bullard subsequently informed ITV he would not be appearing at the live finale in London.
It comes after ITV was forced to deny claims that the row between Thomas and Bullard was edited to exclude physical violence and the c-word.
The Mail has claimed that only a fraction of the fight was aired, with sources close to Jimmy revealing he was still ‘seething’ and scenes including Adam calling him a ‘c***’ were later cut from broadcast.
An insider said: ‘Adam just completely lost it and went for Jimmy. He called him a c*** and Jimmy believes that he tried to kick him, too,’ later adding that ‘Jimmy’s view is that Adam was vile, vicious and violent, but most of it has been cut out by ITV so the viewers will not see the full extent of his behaviour.’
In a comment to Metro, ITV pushed back. In response to the kicking claims, a spokesperson said: ‘This is categorically not true. Adam did not try to kick Jimmy.’
Metro contacted ITV and Jimmy Bullard’s representative for comment.
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