The Jungle Reunion Nobody Expected
Model and television personality Kelly Brook is reportedly feeling apprehensive about her upcoming appearance on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! 2025, thanks to a long-standing alleged feud with the show's iconic hosts, Ant and Dec.
The tension stems from a controversial incident back in 2009, when Brook joined the judging panel of Britain's Got Talent only to be removed from the show after just a few days. While music mogul Simon Cowell publicly attributed her departure to an unsuccessful four-judge format, Brook herself tells a different story.
A Bitter Britain's Got Talent Fallout
According to Brook, ITV executives informed her that Ant and Dec were instrumental in her exit. 'The people at ITV were telling me that I had upset Ant and Dec and that was it,' she revealed after losing the job.
Despite the hosts always being 'pleasant' to her face, Brook believed they were unhappy with her presence. 'Their egos are such that they were saying to themselves: "How dare she think she can come on to our show?"', she claimed, adding they had been 'very vocal about their displeasure' at her involvement.
The hosts addressed the situation in their memoir, Ooh! What a Lovely Pair: Our Story, recalling an awkward first meeting. Dec described how he tried to calm a nervous Brook on her first day, only for her to ask him, 'And what do you do on the show?'
They expressed confusion about her hiring, stating, 'no one could give us a good reason why Kelly was on board,' and revealing they were told 'it wasn't anything personal with Kelly; it was just the four judges didn't work.'
Nervous Anticipation for Jungle Showdown
Now, sixteen years later, Brook finds herself entering the Australian jungle on the very show hosted by the two men at the centre of this professional dispute. A source told The Sun that 'there is apprehension on both sides' ahead of the reunion.
'Kelly is determined for I'm A Celebrity to be a massive success – in stark contrast to her last experience working with Ant and Dec,' the insider revealed. 'It's nerve-wracking that after such a bitter fallout, they'll now be working together in such close proximity.'
Despite the history, viewers shouldn't expect any on-air references to the past drama. The source confirmed 'their painful history won't be referenced on air – it would be weird and honestly just plain awkward to do so.'
Kelly Brook joins a star-studded line-up for the new series, which includes Martin Kemp, Alex Scott, Jack Osbourne, Ruby Wax, and Lisa Riley. I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! begins on Sunday at 9pm on ITV1.
