This season of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! - which uses the same theme and location as 2020’s show for Covid precautions - has been off to a rocky start with three celebrities either leaving Gwrych Castle or threatening to.
First it was Naughty Boy and Arlene Phillips toying with throwing in the towel, and now TV legend Richard Madeley has left for good - although not by his own volition...
Why has Richard Madeley left I'm A Celebrity?
Yesterday, Richard left the castle over reported concerns for his health. Fans of the show were heartbroken as he was an already audience-favourite.
The TV presenter - best known for Richard and Judy and now presenting Good Morning Britain - has reassured fans that he is in fact ‘fine’ and that he has been taken to hospital just ‘as a precaution’. So, can he not just return to the show then?
Well, no. He won’t be competing in the rest of the show not because of ill health but because it would break Covid guidelines set by the show.
On Thursday, Richard told his Instagram followers: ‘I started to feel briefly unwell in the small hours of the morning and was taken to hospital as a precaution. By leaving the camp, I had consequently broken the Covid ‘bubble’ and as such, I’ve had to leave the castle and all the wonderful celebs that remain in the camp.’
A history of I'm A Celebrity walk-outs:
In the past, many celebrities have left the jungle of their own accord from Katie Price in season 9 (who left because she’d been picked for nine bushtucker trials) to Made in Chelsea’s Spencer Matthews in season 15 (who, like Madeley, left for health reasons).
Gemma Collins is among the celebrities that dramatically quit the show. The reality TV star - known for The Only Way Is Essex - lasted just three days inside the jungle before she left in a flood of tears, saying that she just couldn’t go on.
Just a day after Gemma quit, Red Dwarf actor Craig Charles was given the awful news that his brother had died overnight, so he left the jungle to go home and grieve with his family.
In this year’s season of I’m a Celeb, a few others have suggested they may leave the competition. I’m a Celebrity aired some tense scenes on Tuesday night when rapper and music producer Naughty Boy - whose real name is Shahid Khan - threatened to leave the show because he felt like the other stars saw him as the ‘weakest link’.
While Naughty Boy and his teammates were staying in ‘the clink’, the other half of the celebs were in better living conditions. The clink residents had to compete for meals against the main camp, but the main camp celebrities got to choose who plays for it. Naughty Boy believed that he was chosen to do the challenge in a mocking way to ‘kick him while he was down’.
After losing this second task, he returned to camp and told his teammates he wanted to leave I’m a Celeb, blaming the main camp for his decision. ‘I do think my time here is done. I had a feeling early and I was thinking about my mum, and I love you guys, but I don’t think after knowing what the main camp knew what they were putting me through knowing I did a challenge earlier.’ He continued, saying ‘there’s no love there.’
However, at the end of the episode, presenters Ant and Dec revealed Naughty Boy had chosen to stick with the show so that he could call out the other team for their ‘malicious intentions.’
Strictly Come Dancing’s Dame Arlene Phillips also suggested she would leave the show this season over the same feelings. Responding to Naughty Boy’s upset, she said ‘Even though I haven’t said anything, I also feel exactly the same.’
But do I'm A Celebrity campmates still get paid if they quit?
Well, kind of…
It has been reported in the past by The Metro that contestants taking part in I’m a Celeb must stay in the camp for at least 72 hours in order to receive full payment from ITV. But when Gemma Collins dramatically left the show, she received a smaller fee than if she had stayed longer - despite making it past the 72-hour threshold (just.)
With this in mind, celebrities may be less likely to give up and leave the show at the first hurdle. I’m A Celebrity continues on ITV tonight at 9pm.
Read More:
TV Legend Richard Madeley Out Of I'm A Celeb After Being Hospitalised
I’m A Celebrity: Is Naughty Boy Right To Dislike The Other Camp After Losing The Trial?
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