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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Ellie Kemp

The most shocking moments of I'm a Celebrity over the years

Believe it or not, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! has been on our screens for 19 years now.

The iconic ITV show, which sees a batch of celebs get put through their paces in the Australian jungle, has given us many memorable moments over the years.

The show was set in Gwrych Castle, Wales, last year due to Covid-19 restrictions and the celebs will be returning there for the up-coming series.

So as we prepare for a new series brimming with bushtucker trials and drama, let's take a look back at some of the most shocking I'm a Celeb moments.

Read more: Full I'm A Celebrity 2021 line-up officially revealed - with GMB and Emmerdale stars

Gillian McKeith 'fainting' on live TV

The moment Gillian McKeith 'fainted' before her bushtucker trial (ITV)

After being nominated for her seventh bushtucker trial in a row, it all got a bit too much for Gillian McKeith in the tenth edition of I'm a Celeb.

Ant and Dec had read out her name and beckoned her over to explain what the trial would entail.

McKeith took a few steps toward the hosts, grabbing onto Ant's hand before dramatically falling to the ground.

Ant called for 'Bob,' who rushed over and gave McKeith an oxygen mask.

Ant and Dec then had to cut to a break so the situation could be handled and McKeith could be given the, er, 'attention she needed.'

Back on air, the hosts revealed that McKeith had been excluded from the task on medical grounds.

This infuriated viewers, who had paid 50p to see McKeith suffer through yet another bushtucker trial.

Instead, fellow contestant Linford Christie stepped up - he had received the second highest number of votes - and managed to win 12 out of a possible 13 stars.

ITV went on to issue a refund for those who voted for McKeith.

Strawberrygate

Iain Lee and Amir Khan devouring some strawberries and cream (YouTube/I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!)

Comedian Iain Lee and boxer Amir Khan shocked the nation in 2017, when they kept their Dingo Dollar prize all to themselves.

Typically, two contestants are chosen to take on a Dingo Dollar challenge and on completion, the rest of the camp has to answer a question to win a food-related prize from Kiosk Keith.

On this occasion, the camp answered the question correctly - meaning they had won strawberries and cream.

But instead of taking the food back to camp, Lee and Khan began deliberating.

Khan expressed how he wanted to just 'eat the strawberries now,' and discussed what would happen if the pair were to scoff the lot without the other campmates knowing.

Eventually, Khan suggested 'just looking' at the strawberries.

The duo unwrapped the paper the strawberries were in, and that was all it took.

They began to tuck in.

Returning to camp, they both lied and said the other campers had answered the Dingo Dollar question wrong.

Of course, the rest of the campmates were disappointed with that.

But their disappointment soon turned to anger when eventually Lee, wracked with guilt, confessed their wrong-doing.

Carol Thatcher, the 'mystery' urinator

Carol Thatcher (right) with fellow I'm a Celeb series 5 contestant David Dickinson (left). (Mirrorpix)

Journalist and author Carol Thatcher was the unlikely Queen of the Jungle in 2005.

But her unexpected win wasn't her most shocking moment of the series.

It was, in fact, when she got up in the middle of the night to urinate beside her hammock - on two occasions.

A staggering 10 million viewers tuned in as Thatcher squatted on the floor and pulled her knickers down to have an illegal wee, reports The Mirror.

Contestants are expected to use the dunny, so they got a stern warning from I'm A Celeb bosses as the urine started to attract hordes of rats.

While infra-red cameras exposed Thatcher as the guilty party, she did not own up.

Thatcher kept quiet as the celebs tried to figure out who would do such a thing - with former EastEnders star Sid Owen getting the blame.

It was only after leaving the jungle that Carol confessed to her crime.

She explained: "I arrived in the camp having thrown up more than I ever had, so somebody said drink some water.

"We went to our respective beds and the bush toilet was a long way away and the kerosene lamp had gone out.

"So I did what any camper does and thought I'll just step this way closer to the bushes and go to the loo - slightly forgetting that everything was recorded and on infra-red camera.

"I was extremely unwell and thought that rather than throw up over camp I'd go for a quick wee-stop in the jungle."

Katie Price and Peter Andre

Katie Price gives Peter Andre a back massage (ITV)

Glamour model Katie Price - known as Jordan at the time - and pop singer Peter Andre hit it off straight away on I'm a Celeb in 2004.

Campmates quickly noticed their attraction to one another, even though Price was still in a relationship with with Scott Sullivan, who she had been dating for two years before appearing on the show.

Price and Andre were seen cuddling up on hammocks together, had some raunchy conversations and got extremely close while giving each other back massages.

Their relationship continued to blossom outside the jungle and the couple got married only a year after meeting on the show.

They went on to have two children together; Junior, now 16, and Princess, 14.

The pair were married for four years, until they divorced in 2009.

The short-lived return of Katie Price

Katie Price on I'm a Celeb in 2009 (YouTube/I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!)

The same year as her divorce, Price revealed she was returning to the I'm a Celeb jungle; the very place she first found love with Andre.

But her return visit in 2009 didn't end quite so gloriously, as she was nominated for every single bushtucker trail.

It all got too much, and she quit the show after being nominated for her seventh bushtucker trail.

Going out in a blaze of glory, she dumped then-boyfriend Alex Reid live on air, telling the camera, "I’m not with him anymore," reports the Mirror.

She later married and divorced him.

I'm a Celebrity 2021 begins on Sunday (21 November) on ITV at 9pm.

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