I'm A Celebrity...South Africa's Craig Charles thought Adam Thomas 'was going to attack' Jimmy Bullard in explosive row
I'm A Celebrity...South Africa's Craig Charles has recalled the almighty bust-up between his fellow campmates, Adam Thomas and Jimmy Bullard.
I'm A Celebrity...South Africa's Craig Charles thought Adam Thomas would "attack" Jimmy Bullard during their explosive row.
Earlier this week, Waterloo Road alum Adam furiously shouted at ex-Wigan Athletic midfielder Jimmy as the latter refused to do a trial, which initially sent the pair home, until their fellow campmates unanimously voted to keep Adam in camp.
And Red Dwarf legend Craig has claimed that ITV "watered down" the almighty bust-up because it was "deeply traumatic" to air in its entirety.
Craig, 61, appeared alongside fellow finalists, four-time Olympic gold medallist long-distance runner Sir Mo Farah, 43, and ex-Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp, 79, on Friday's (24.04.26's) edition of ITV's This Morning.
Craig told hosts Alison Hammond, 51, and 52-year-old Dermot O'Leary: "They watered down the Jimmy Bullard incident because it was unbroadcastable as it was. It was deeply traumatic and really upsetting.
"Adam was so wound up, he was so aggressive, he was like a coiled spring. It looked like he was going to attack Jimmy; he was dropping f-bombs and c-bombs."
Speaking to Dermot, Craig continued: "If Alison said, 'I don't want to do an interview,' and you started [reacting in that way] to Alison, you would be escorted off the premises. It really was traumatic.
"And they couldn’t broadcast it - I get that, I’m not blaming ITV, they edited it out. So mine and Harry’s response to that was because of what we’d really seen.
"They had to water down what we’d really seen, but they didn’t water down our responses.
"So people are thinking, 'Oh, it wasn’t that bad. Why are they picking on Adam?' But we weren’t picking on Adam at all; it was just that what he did, and we saved him again.
"I thought Adam was my friend, so we saved him again."
A week before the row between Jimmy, 47, and 37-year-old Adam - who were surrounded by producers as it escalated - the latter and former boxer David Haye, 45, were locked in a feud.
The camp was split into two, the Lions and the Rhinos, and they battled it out against each other in a series of challenges to win food, with David angered that Adam's team, the Rhinos, kept winning.
But the feud reached new heights after David called Adam "useless” and “lazy" after the actor withdrew from challenges because of feeling dehydrated and ill.
And it caused viewers to think David was "bullying" Adam - who was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis in 2023, an autoimmune condition that causes joint pain, swelling and stiffness - which the sportsman denied and said the comments were "banter".
But Craig and his campmates did not initially realise how David's comments were affecting Adam - who did not admit the pain because he "didn't want to appear weak".
Craig said: "Adam gave as good as he got. He was laughing and all of that. We didn't realise that he was being emotionally affected by it because he never told us.
"I asked him yesterday, 'Why didn't you tell us?' And he said, 'Well, I didn't want to appear weak.' We didn't know."
Craig went on to defend ITV over the incident between Adam and David.
He continued: "ITV have got a duty of care. They have got 24/7 people on high-definition close-ups picking it all out. Now they didn't think he was getting 'bullied' enough to step in.
"They have a duty of care; they would've stepped in if they thought he was being bullied."
However, Craig noticed the feud got too much on the morning, the April 20 episode, when his campmates sent David packing - which Adam said felt like "a weight had lifted".
Craig said: "We didn't see it until that final morning when I thought David got a bit nasty, and I thought, 'This is turning into bullying this now.'
"And on that final morning, I found myself in the perfect position when we were voting people out, I saved Adam, knowing that the other two were not going to pick David, thereby ensuring David went home.
"We were there for him; we didn't know the extent of his troubles."
The I'm A Celebrity...South Africa live final airs Friday (24.04.26) at 7.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
