Richard Madeley has been rushed to hospital from the set of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here- and is now out of the competition.
The TV icon and Good Morning Britain presenter, 65, left the camp at Gwrych Castle in Wales in the early hours of Thursday morning in an ambulance - just one day after his ‘Castle Kitchen Nightmares’ challenge, complete with fish guts, rotting fruit, rodents and bugs.
Richard fell ill suddenly, worrying production staff and his campmates - who called in the medics.
But writing on Instagram, Richard has now revealed he's out of the show.
'Richard here – firstly just to say that I’m absolutely FINE. I started to feel briefly unwell in the small hours of the morning and was taken to hospital as a precaution,' he explained. '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.'
He continued, 'Obviously I’m gutted to be leaving so soon but the safety of all the campmates is the number one priority. I’m incredibly excited to watch their journey continue…even more so at the prospect of being somewhere a little warmer than Gwrych Castle.
'Thank you to everyone who supported me on my brief but completely unforgettable adventure – I’ve made some great friends and honestly had the time of my life.'
In a statement, an ITV spokesperson said: 'Richard was unwell in the early hours and was immediately seen by our on-site medical team.
He’s since been taken to hospital as a precaution, the health and safety of our campmates is our priority.'
A source told The Sun: 'It was horrifying - campers were really upset and concerned, all of the crew and medics rushed to set to help him. It was a real scare for everyone involved.'
A statement from the Welsh Ambulance Service said: 'We were called at 5.43am this morning, Thursday November 25, to reports of a medical emergency at Gwrych Castle in Abergele, Conwy
'We sent a paramedic in a rapid response car and an emergency ambulance to the scene, and one patient was taken to hospital.'
Viewers watched Richard crawl around a waste chute earlier in the evening in his challenge, diving into rotten fruit while being pelted with fish guts and offal. He was absolutely covered in gross gunk.
He won a disappointing four stars in the challenge, which equated to four meals for the campmates - not a lot for the hungry bunch.
This year’s campmates includeformer Strictly judge Arlene Philips, BBC presenter Louise Minchin, and soap legends Adam Woodyatt from EastEnders and Coronation Street’s Simon Gregson, who entered the camp on Wednesday night.