I’m A Celebrity star Dean McCullough has addressed rumours of a “feud” between him and host Ant McPartlin following his departure from the show.
The presenter had seemed frustrated with the BBC Radio 1 DJ for quitting one of his seven trials and for not earning enough stars for the camp.
After the broadcaster left camp, McPartlin discussed his “tough love” approach towards the broadcaster during his live exit interview on ITV.
He told host Susanna Reid, 53, how he “got used to the tension” of doing the gruesome tasks – but admitted: “I wouldn’t say I loved the trials.”
Now in his first interview since his eviction on Sunday, McCullough spoke about the situation on Good Morning Britain on Monday and said: “What you don’t see on television is it’s very quiet, it’s all taken very seriously and it’s tense.
“When Ant was telling me off, it felt like a proper telling off, felt like he meant it and I wanted to win him back around.”
McCullough then agreed with Reid when she commented the TV presenter had been “antsy”, but added: “Yeah, I believe he was. But it worked.
“It meant that I eventually got 10 stars home for camp and I got a handshake.”
The ITV presenter interjected with: “It was a bit of tough love from Ant McPartlin there.”
During the radio star’s exit interview on Sunday, McPartlin explained why he was frustrated with McCullough during the Bushtucker Trials.
McPartlin admitted: “I was quite harsh on you. Let me explain why Dean. I was so angry at you for calling ‘I’m A Celebrity’”.
To which his co-host Donnelly added: “But that was because we felt that the trial was doable. And you panicked over the sand in sarcophagus.”
Continuing to explain, McPartlin added: “Then, that tough love kind of got you through. I was really proud of you at the end and that tough love got you through. By the flying challenge, you were brilliant. I knew you could do it.”
Also in his exit interview, McCullough defended his time in the camp, saying that he did pull his weight, despite viewer backlash.
His popularity dipped when campmates gave him the nickname ‘Houdini’ due to his tendency to disappear whenever work needed doing.
In response, McCullough explained that because he was frequently in trials, he struggled to keep up with chores – and also pointed out that Melvin Odoom never raised any issues about their shared tasks.
However, his reputation took a hit after a fallout with fellow contestant Alan Halsall, with many viewers feeling he overreacted when the Corrie star woke him up.
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