By Admin 
The live final of I’m a Celebrity… South Africa may have crowned Adam Thomas as King of the Jungle, but what he remembers most is not the win itself—it’s the chaos, the accusations, and the unsettling moment afterwards when former boxing star David Haye reached out with a “disturbing” congratulatory message. Now, for the first time since the ITV drama unraveled in front of Ant & Dec, Thomas has broken his silence, revealing just how deeply the experience has marked him.
Speaking on his podcast At Home With The Thomas Bro’s, the 37‑year‑old Emmerdale star walked through the fallout of that intense final night, the allegations made against him in camp, and the message he says Haye sent after the cameras stopped rolling. The discussion also indirectly spotlights the role Ant & Dec played in trying to keep things under control as the studio devolved into shouting, accusations, and at least two stars walking off set.
The Night Everything Exploded
During the live final on Friday, I’m a Celebrity… South Africa briefly stopped feeling like a light‑entertainment show and started looking more like a soap‑opera courtroom. After Thomas was crowned winner, contestant Jimmy Bullard accused him of being “abusive, aggressive and intimidating” in the jungle. The heated exchange triggered a chaotic back‑and‑forth, with Haye backing Bullard and tensions rising so sharply that Sinitta and Gemma Collins reportedly stormed off the set.
All of this unfolded under the steer of Ant & Dec, who have long balanced the show’s warm, playful tone with the unpredictability of reality TV. In that moment, the pair were forced to navigate a live‑TV crisis: calming the set, addressing the public and the campmates, and keeping the broadcast on track while emotions were running at breaking point. Their intervention is what many viewers will associate with the night—not just the win, but the scramble to contain the moment once the jungle’s drama spilled into the studio.
The Voice Note That Haunted Adam
Outside the live show, however, Adam Thomas says another unsettling chapter unfolded. Claiming that Haye had picked on him throughout the series and painted him as a “victim” in camp, Thomas revealed that the former boxer reached out after the final with a voice note that he found deeply unsettling.
“The most disturbing bit for me was where I look at David and even after the show, he sent me a voice note and was like, ‘Oh mate, what a great show that was. I’m so happy you won. Congratulations’,” Adam Thomas told his brothers on the podcast. To him, the friendly tone came across as jarring and disingenuous, especially given the way he felt Haye had behaved toward him in the jungle.
Adam Thomas also accused Haye of manipulating him in camp, claiming the boxer told him that ITV producers were worried about his mental health and had asked Haye to back off. When Thomas later checked with the team, he says they told him that nothing of the kind had been said and that Haye had made the story up. That revelation, according to Thomas, is what made him feel truly “gamed” and left him questioning the trustworthiness not just of Haye, but of the psychological pressure that can build behind the scenes on a show hosted so prominently by Ant & Dec.
Ant & Dec’s Role in the Aftermath
The whole episode raises uncomfortable questions about how much control hosts can really have once emotions boil over. Ant & Dec have presided over I’m a Celebrity and its spin‑off formats for years, and part of their job is to keep the tone light and the energy upbeat. But when real‑life conflicts like the clash between Thomas, Haye, and Bullard erupt on live or live‑to‑tape formats, the responsibility shifts from entertainment to damage control.
For audiences who watched the final, Ant & Dec were the reassuring, familiar faces trying to bring the moment back from the brink: smoothing over the friction, re‑centering the focus on the crowning of the winner, and protecting the integrity of the show’s brand. Behind the scenes, reports suggest that some campmates were uncomfortable appearing with Haye and Bullard on the companion show Unpacked, which led to both being sent home early. That private fallout, layered on top of Thomas’s on‑air reaction and the “disturbing” voice note he describes, paints a picture of a show that, even under the guidance of Ant & Dec, can feel overwhelming and emotionally exploitative for its contestants.
A Winner Who Says He’s Done
Despite the victory, Adam Thomas has been clear that his experience will stay with him for life. In multiple interviews, he has said he would not return to the show even for a life‑changing sum of money, emphasizing that the emotional toll was not worth it. The fact that he skipped the usual ITV daytime‑show round‑up—to keep the rawness of his reflections private and real—adds to the sense that this was not just another TV moment, but a genuine breaking point.
For fans of Ant & Dec and the I’m a Celebrity format, the story is a reminder that the joke‑laden jungle environment can sometimes mask deeper psychological strain. The incident with Thomas, Haye, and Bullard, along with the uneasy post‑show voice note, underlines the need for clearer boundaries and more robust mental‑health support, especially as the show continues to lean on returning stars and high‑pressure camp dynamics.
Why This Moment Sticks
In the end, the story of Adam Thomas and the “disturbing” message from David Haye is not just about one person’s bad experience. It’s a case study in how reality TV can blur the line between fun, drama, and real emotional harm—all while Ant & Dec stand at the center, trying to keep the ship steady. The fact that Thomas has chosen to speak so openly about what he went through may push the conversation around duty of care, production transparency, and the ethics of reality showdowns into the spotlight in a way that a routine “That was a great show!” voice note simply cannot undo.
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