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A former I’m A Celebrity contestant has spoken out about how he sparked a huge bullying row with Ant and Dec during his time on the show.
Radio presenter Dean McCullough, who starred on the series last year, explained how the hosting duo showed their true colours in a moment that never made it to screens.
Dean fell victim to the public vote and was forced to take on six Bushtucker Trials in a row during the series, with viewers claiming Ant and Dec ‘hated’ him during a series of exchanges in the clearing.
Later, his own mother Ann vowed to confront ‘angry’ Ant after saying he was ‘too harsh’ to her son when he underwent the trails.
Speaking in a new interview, Dean explained how they had just been ‘bantering’ each other.
‘Look, it’s banter and I thought it was funny and that’s why I was bantering them back,’ he explained.
Dean told Joe Bagg on the Not My Bagg podcast: ‘When you see it on TV, the banter that we had down at the trials was real because I don’t know what’s going on on the outside.
‘As far as I’m concerned, Ant’s just being hard on me because I’m being a f*****g p***y and sometimes you’ve just got to say to somebody, “Get on with it”.
Dean explained how he had a ‘full-blown panic attack’ before a trial, which never made it to air, with the geordie duo showing a softer side and comforting him.
‘Ant and Dec were like holding my hand saying, “You have got this, you’re going to be alright” and, “You don’t have to do this” and whatever,’ he recalled.
‘They couldn’t get me in the box before we even started filming, they couldn’t even get me in it.
‘I got into the box twice before we started filming, so they got it, they knew I was genuinely petrified.’
Speaking last year, Dean’s mother said: ‘I think Ant’s been a wee bit hard on him. I’m going to have to have a word with Ant about that later.’
Her comments came after Ant told I’m A Celeb audiences that he was getting ‘frustrated’ with Dean’s lack of ability in the Bushtucker Trials and pleaded with fans to stop voting him in.
Anne admitted how ‘awful’ it has been watching Dean, who she said has had ‘such a hard few years’.
She said: ‘It’s hard to watch him do the Trials. I had him warned though, there’s nothing in that Jungle that’s going to kill you, do it, just get over yourself do it.
‘The moments he shouted I’m A Celebrity were the ones I was hiding behind a cushion. Me and the two dogs begging, “Don’t say the words, please don’t say the words”.’
Dean had taken part in most of the Bushtucker Trials this series due to his tendency to scream and call I’m A Celebrity, encouraging viewers to vote him in for more.
After it was revealed the public had chosen Dean to complete in his sixth trial, the Geordie duo begged viewers to stop voting for him.
Appeared on I’m A Celebrity Unpacked, they made a desperate plea and urged viewers to start voting for other celebrities, fuming ‘We aren’t getting to know the others!’
Ant said: ‘Right, let’s all [viewers] have a serious talk, I’m going to look directly down the camera here. I think it’s good to see other faces down there.’
He insisted: ‘This is not a personal thing. It’s not about Dean, it’s about us just seeing different people down there and I think we’d want to see different people down there being featured.
‘Some people, unfortunately, aren’t getting [airtime]. I’d like to see Barry [McGuigan] do a trial, I’d like to see Melvin [Odoom] down there, Oti [Mabuse]!
‘This happens every year when someone gets voted multiple times, you just get to a point where you go “Who’s still voting for Dean?” I don’t get it.’
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! airs on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.
