I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star Dean McCullough’s mother has vowed to confront host Ant McPartlin over his criticism of her son.
McPartlin previously said he was “disappointed” that the Radio 1 DJ has quit several trials and even joked that he will “never” follow him on Instagram.
McCullough’s mother Ann, 55, had some fighting words for the Geordie presenter, 49, as she touched down at Brisbane Airport in Australia on Tuesday, wearing a T-shirt with her son’s photograph on it.
“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,” she told The Mirror.
Ann added that it’s been “awful” watching her son do the bush tucker trials and said he has “had such a hard few years”.
“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,” she said.
“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.’”
McPartlin and co-host Declan Donnelly begged viewers to stop voting for McCullough on Sunday after the public chose him to do his sixth trial.
The radio presenter has garnered a cult following after screaming through many of his challenges and quitting midway through several of them.
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Appearing on I’m A Celebrity Unpacked on Sunday, McPartlin pleaded with fans to start voting for other celebrities.
“Right, let’s all 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 said.
“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 [air time]. 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.”
McCullough surprised everyone during Monday’s challenge, “Jack and the Screamstalk,” by earning 10 stars for the camp.
However, McPartlin couldn’t resist taking a cheeky swipe at the presenter on I’m a Celebrity…Unpacked after the show.
Host Kemi Rodgers said: “I guess you don’t get the face time with [the other celebrities]. We see them on our screens, but you don’t get the face time. You know Dean really well at the moment.”
McPartlin then joked: “Too well!”
He added: “And I’m never going to follow him on Instagram. Never. That’s not going to happen. Never going to happen.”