Christopher Eccleston has jokingly dubbed the contestants of I'm A Celebrity 2017 "a***holes" over a scheduling clash that left his own show's ratings in the shadows.
The former Doctor Who star, 56, stars in The A Word, a family drama focusing on the relationship between parents Alison (Morven Christie) and Paul (Lee Ingleby) and their children Rebecca (Molly Wright) and Joe (Max Vento), who has autism.
Christopher plays granddad Maurice, father of Alison, whose meddling in the way the family is run is a constant source of annoyance.
But while the show has won rave reviews, it was overshadowed in 2017 when a scheduling clash put it head-to-head with Ant and Dec's prime time staple I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!.
"It's very dispiriting to me to think the British public would prefer to watch a load of a***holes in the jungle eating spiders than watch our drama," Christopher told inews.co.uk.
"We've always been writing about the joy and pain of being part of a large extended family and, during this period of lockdown, we've been forced together.
"I think a huge part of our attraction is that it focuses on family, so we could really resonate this time."
The actor went on: "The reaction to, and success of, The A Word has been enormous. People stop me to talk about The A Word more than anything I've ever done. More than Hillsborough, Cracker or Our Friends In The North."
Christopher added: "People say, 'Thank you for making it, because my son, my daughter, my grandson, a friend of a friend has someone on the spectrum.' They say thank you for making it positive and funny.
"Because we all get on with our lives, don't we, whatever a family has to deal with. So it's not a soapbox piece; it's actually about the positivity that Joe's condition brings and how families rally round and have to look at their own behaviour."
Meanwhile, crisis talks are taking place around the filming of this year's I'm A Celeb.
With the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe, flights between countries are restricted - and the Australian government has brought in strict laws for the crossing of its borders.
With ITV's other big reality series Love Island slated not to take place at all this summer, all hopes will be pinned on I'm A Celeb to cheer up the nation at the end of 2020.
*The A Word series 3 continues next Tuesday at 9pm on BBC2
