Joel Dommett apologises after using ‘knife joke’ on I’m A Celebrity spin-off show

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Host of I’m A Celebrity… Unpacked, Joel Dommett, made a ‘joke’ about using a knife on somebody if they stole his sweets.

In Tuesday’s episode of the spin-off show for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, Dommett was chatting with hosts of the main programme, Ant and Dec, about an incident in which Ruby Wax stole a bag of sweets following a challenge.

The comedian said: ‘If someone stole my Haribo, I’d shank them’,before asking: ‘Is that alright to say on telly? Was that too much?’

Ant responded: ‘Not really’, and Dec told him he’d ‘overstepped the mark.’ In the moment, Joel said: ‘I’m sorry about that’.

But now, he’s issued a further apology.

In a statement shared with Metro, he said: ‘I would like to once again apologise to anyone offended by the language used in Tuesday’s show.

‘I realised the error in the moment and immediately apologised live on air.

‘This was not a pre-written joke and I would never make light of such a serious issue as knife crime.’

An ITV spokesperson also responded to the incident.

They said: ‘We would apologise to anyone offended by the language used in Tuesday’s show.

‘Joel recognised this unfortunate choice of language in the moment and immediately apologised to viewers.’

In England and Wales there were around 53,000 offences involving a sharp instrument, in the year ending in March 2025. This is according to information published by UK Parliament.

The Ben Kinsella Trust is a charity educating young people on the dangers of knife crime.

CEO Patrick Green told The Sun: ‘I am sure that when Joel made this comment, he was not intending to cause offence or trivialise knife crime, as indicated by his immediate apology.

‘However, it does highlight how knife crime has become so ingrained in our society that it has entered everyday language, when in reality it is something we should strongly oppose and never joke about.’

Dommett hosts the extra I’m A Celebrity show alongside presenter Kemi Rodgers.

He was in the jungle himself for the 2016 season, where he came second to Scarlett Moffatt.

This wasn’t the last apology he made on the show this week.

After being attacked by a critter live on air during Friday’s episode, he swore as he tried to shake the bug off.

The ITV presenter then looked at the cameras and said: ‘I’m sorry I swore’.

I’m A Celebrity airs on ITV1 at 9pm. I’m A Celebrity… Unpacked airs straight after the episode on ITV2.

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