I’m A Celeb star Tony Bellew gave his first interview since coming second on the show – and hinted at a feud with one of his campmates.
Tony, 41, missed out on becoming King of the Jungle when Sam Thompson was crowned on Sunday night’s (December 10) episode. This comes after Tony revealed he nearly left the jungle after he saw his wife Rachael. However, she motivated him to stay and he made it to second place.
Tony Bellew praised his campmates but snubs Fred
Speaking on Good Morning Britain today (Monday, December 10) Tony failed to mention Fred’s name while he praised his fellow campmates.
He said: “Sam, Marvin, Frankie Dettori, Nigel Farage, Nick Pickard… the girls were all Queens.”
He added: “Anyone who doesn’t love Sam… Anyone who doesn’t love Marvin, Frankie, Nigel or Nick…”
The pair previously clashed when Fred put himself up for a trial – and wouldn’t be told otherwise. This led to Tony telling the French star to “calm down” in a tense moment.
Was Tony’s snubbing of Fred intentional? ED! has contacted Tony and Fred’s reps for comment.
Tony on the jungle
Elsewhere in the interview, Tony told hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls that in the camp you have “good days and bad days” but he was going through a little bit before in his personal life.
He said: “I lost my nan, my beautiful nan. On top of that, I missed my son’s birthday which I promised him after I retired I’d never do that again, and I did so there was so much going on.’
Fans were in “tears” after Tony’s confession, as one wrote on Twitter: “Bloody hell this interview with Tony has me in tears.” A second said: “I never knew Tony until he went into the jungle. He’s a down-to-earth lad.”
Tony revealed a friend persuaded him to do I’m A Celeb
He also admitted that he signed up to do the show after being persuaded by a friend: “The persona of me is I’m a maniac who punches people in the face. The truth is I’m a normal person. The only difference is I used to punch people in the face for a living, that’s gone. It’s been five years since that.
“I will never quit no matter how hard it gets, and I’m not going to lie it gets hard in there,” he said.
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Previously, Tony revealed that he found out his beloved nan, Rose, died the day before he signed up for the ITV reality show in Australia. He said he only committed to flying out to Australia once he confirmed he could be home in time for her funeral. He told The Liverpool Echo: “She was in a home. And she told my mum ‘I’ll be able to watch that [I’m A Celeb] every night,'” he said.
He continued: “So yeah, it is what it is. She’ll be watching, you know, from wherever she is and whatever she’s doing. She was a diamond of an old lady. She was wonderful.”
Read more: I’m A Celeb: Tony Bellew is doing the show for his late nan, wife Rachel says
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