After mere days in the South African jungle this week, tensions were already running high amongst the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! campmates as it was revealed that three contestants had flouted the strict camp rules and brought contraband items with them to brave the jungle.
From salt and almonds through to a whopping 85 tea bags, Gillian McKeith was the first star to admit she had smuggled in a few items from home, much to the chagrin of her fellow contestants.
Myleene Klass also confessed to having hid seasoning in her scrunchie to help her survive the camp’s bare basics, before former royal butler Paul Burrell admitted he too had brought in a small amount of coffee.
Yet while the string of flagrant rule breaking appeared to shock several campmates, this year’s All-Star contestants aren’t the first to sneak items into camp, nor will they be the last.
Here, we take a closer look at some of the most iconic smugglers in the show’s history…
Gillian McKeith
Easily the most prolific smuggler of contraband into camp is health and wellness guru Gillian McKeith, who managed to sneak several banned items into the camp, not once but twice, during both of her appearances on the show.
During her stint in the Australian jungle back in 2010, Gillian famously smuggled multiple items, including salt, into the camp via a pair of extra large knickers that she had especially modified to include a pair of pockets to hide her items.
In the altered M&S pants, Gillian managed to sneak herbs, spices and teabags before she was finally rumbled by the show producers.
In a repeat performance of her earlier subterfuge, when Gillian took part in the 2023 South African series, once again the star relied on her underwear to stash the banned items, only this time she opted to wear two bras to avoid suspicion.
Inside the underwired bras, the nutritionist managed to sneak salt, almonds and tea bags past the show producers before finally coming clean about her rule breaking.
Louise Minchin
Another star who famously flouted the rules was BBC news presenter Louise Minchin, who headed into the Welsh castle in 2021. During the series, Storm Arwen meant that the contestants had to briefly leave the camp in Wales until it had passed.
While the contestants were put up for the night in a nearby hotel, Louise strayed from the strict diet of rice and beans and sneakily indulged in a snickers and a fruit and nut chocolate bar as she confessed to “having given in” to temptation.
AJ Pritchard
Strictly Come Dancing star AJ Pritchard was another contestant who hoped to bend the rules by bringing in a special pillow from home emblazoned with his then girlfriend Abbie Quinnen’s face.
Unfortunately, AJ’s plan was soon rumbled and the item was confiscated as no extra pillows or studded toys were permitted, beyond the bare basics provided by the show’s production team.
Giovanna Fletcher
In 2020’s edition of I’m A Celebrity, author and podcaster Giovanna Fletcher thought she had stumbled upon a brilliant plan to sneak a pair of cycle shorts into the jungle to help keep the creepy crawlies away from her.
However, despite her ingenious plan, the producers soon shot down her attempt to bring them into the camp, as they confirmed that contestants were only permitted to wear clothes provided by ITV.
Amy Willerton
While applying a face of make-up in the jungle may seem a little bit bonkers to some viewers at home, Amy Willerton was adamant it was an essential for her time on the show back in 2013.
Unwilling to accept ‘no’ for an answer from producers, the beauty pageant queen snuck a Benefit Boi-ing concealer into the camp right under the production team’s noses and very nearly got away with it, but sadly was soon rumbled when she tried to apply it.
The show in general has a strict no make-up policy, as the aim of spending time in the jungle is to get back to basics, dirt and all.
However, exceptions are made for medical reasons, such as when Georgia Toffollo was permitted to use foundation during 2017, as she had an existing medical condition.
Cliff Parisi
Although Gillian McKeith is easily the queen of contraband, EastEnders star Cliff Parisi appeared to have taken note of Gillian’s ingenious method to sneak items into the camp, when he too hid seasoning in his boxers during his 2019 appearance on the show.
Rita Simons
Another former EastEnders star who admitted to breaking the rules was Rita Simons, who confessed to having brought extra underwear with her into the camp when she appeared on the show in 2018.
According to the show, contestants are only allowed three pairs of underwear to enter the camp, and are frequently required to wash their skivvies in the jungle, however thanks to some ingenious subterfuge, Rita was able to smuggle in more knickers than originally permitted.
Appearing on This Morning, she said: “I smuggled in extra knickers. You’re allowed three pairs of knickers… Three pairs. I smuggled more."
Chris Moyles
One star who shared his pride at having been able to sneak a luxury item into the camp, was Chris Moyles, who confessed he had stolen a whole array of items during his time in the camp, including some biscuits which he snuck back into camp.
During the Bushtucker Trial "Savage Sorting Office” Chris managed to seize an opportunity and bagged himself some biscuits much to the delight of his campmates.
Speaking to Toby Tarrant on Radio X, Chris said: "I managed to steal two and a half biscuits. You know the ones that you get in hotels, where there's two in one wrapper? I managed to get through that entire trial with the crane with two biscuits in my left pocket.”
He then continued: ”Then I got back to camp, managed to find a rice bag that was empty, put the biscuits in and break them all in half and hide them in the toilet. Then I had to try and subliminally tell everybody they needed to go to the toilet because I'd 'cleaned the seat'!
"Three campmates managed to eat half a biscuit before one of the 72 cameras they have there worked out what I was doing and the biscuits disappeared."
I'm A Celebrity… South Africa continues each night at 9pm on ITV and ITVX.
READ MORE:
- Click here for today's top showbiz news
- Michelle Heaton shares pic of 'sad, sick and very frightened' first day in rehab in 2021
Princess Charlotte 'will have the freedom to grow up as she likes', says expert
Kardashians' secret feud revealed as Kourtney fumes at Kim in new show trailer
Love Island's Chloe Burrows reveals her dad cut contact with her after show
Source: Read Full Article
