Whether it’s battling bugs or chowing down another bowl of rice and beans, the I’m A Celeb experience can be tough for some. Despite the famous faces being paid handsomely by ITV for their jungle stint, some call time on their adventures Down Under prior to eviction. A host of I’m A Celeb stars quit the jungle before being booted off – here we look at who left of their own accord. Yet just who has called out the show’s iconic phrase – “I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out Of Here?” Below we take a look at the stars that couldn’t quite hack it.
GRACE DENT
Grace Dent was the first to leave I’m A Celeb’s 2023 series. HOAR was first to report how MasterChef star and top food critic Grace Dent, 50, had quit the 2023 series. Pals revealed they were concerned for the MasterChef star in the hours before her departure, saying: “Grace looks broken.” ITV said the food critic had left on “medical grounds”. Those close to Grace said she was completely drained from her nine-day stint in camp. At the time, a source said: “Grace is hugely relieved to be out of I’m A Celeb. She pulled the plug because she couldn’t carry on, mentally or physically. “It has been incredibly difficult for her and it all became too much. “The cold and wet weather, coupled with the punishing tasks and lack of food, took its toll. “She has lost a lot of weight and looks gaunt. Her friends just want her to get home.” Yet luckily for the foodie, she will still scoop her entire I’m A Celeb sign-up fee.
GEMMA COLLINS
Gemma Collins claimed she had malaria during her jungle stint. The I’m A Celebrity jungle didn’t match up with Gemma Collins’ diva demands when she entered in 2014. From the moment she went up in the air in the helicopter, the former TOWIE star, 42, didn’t stop complaining. After moaning about the lack of food and her yellow poo, and claiming she had malaria, the GC quit after just three days. The reality star said that ITV advised against her entering the jungle, but that she didn’t want to waste the opportunity.
KATIE PRICE
Katie Price has starred on I’m A Celeb twice. When Katie Price, 45, first went into the jungle in 2004, she made it to the final. She even got a (now-ex) husband Peter Andre and two kids – Princess, 16, and Junior, 18 – out of it! But when she returned for a second stint in 2009 she didn’t exactly get the result she wanted. In fact, viewers kept voting her to do every single trial, and when it got to her seventh, she walked. She said: “I’ve done my challenges, people can see I’m genuine. I just don’t want to be here any more.”
RICHARD MADELEY
Richard Madeley made a dramatic departure from the I’m A Celeb camp back in 2021. Back in 2021, Richard Madeley, 67, made a dramatic departure from the I’m A Celeb camp after he was rushed to hospital. The Good Morning Britain anchor was then unable to return to Gwrych Castle because he’d left the show’s Covid bubble, and news of his exit rocked the Welsh camp. At the time, Richard told how he was “gutted to be leaving so soon.” Yet thankfully for the telly favourite, he still bagged his full £200,000 fee.
JOHNNY ROTTEN
Johnny Rotten had major beef with Katie Price during his time on the show. Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten, 67, was known for his sweary rants when he went into the I’m A Celeb jungle in 2004. He famously rowed with former glamour model Katie Price during his time in there, after she used drinking water to wash her hair. While being antagonistic towards her throughout, John later had another epic rant in the Bush Telegraph – ending with him kicking the camera. He said: “I’m getting really fed up with it. I’m kind of the spokesperson I suppose, because I’m outspoken. It occupies the centre of attention, but it isn’t happy even with that. The smoke annoys her. It’s the camp fire, b***h. Live with it or swap. “I’m not here to support a Page 3 f*****g blow up balloon. Right? I f*****g ain’t. No f*****g more. B******s to you. I’ve had enough of this s**t.” Following that, Johnny became the sole reason I’m A Celebrity now has a time delay, when he called the public “f*****g c***s” live on TV in 2004. When challenged, he started a fire on the borders of the camp to protest the lack of food before telling producers he was “bored” and wanted chocolate – and then promptly upped and left. Back in 2021, Katie reignited their feud as she dubbed the rockstar “a nasty piece of work.”
NATALIE APPLETON
Natalie Appleton quit after being nominated for her fifth Bushtucker Trial. All Saints singer Natalie Appleton, 50, quit the show on the day she’d been nominated for her fifth Bushtucker Trial in a row by the public in the 2004 series. She fast became viewers’ favourite to do the trials after appearing terrified of a tree in the fourth series’ first episode. While walking along a tightrope in one challenge, she screamed: “Help me mummy – I’m going to be sick!” and during another she had to be given oxygen. It was left to Medic Bob, real name Bob McCarron, to provide her with emergency treatment. After failing to win many stars – her fourth trial saw her take home just one meal for her campmates – Natalie decided to walk rather than do another.
DANNIELLA WESTBROOK
Ex soap star Danniella Westbrook missed her kids. In 2003, former EastEnders star Danniella Westbrook, 50, sensationally quit the jungle nine days in because she was so sick of being away from then-husband Kevin Jenkins and her two children – then aged six and 18 months. She’d tried to leave before that, claiming: “I can’t stand it. I really can’t. I just hate it in here. I thought it would be fun but everyone is starving and starting to feel ill and really weak.” Danniella tried to persuade people not to vote for her to stay in the camp, telling viewers: “I have had my fill of being in the camp, I have done my bit for charity.” It marked one of the most dramatic walkouts on the ITV reality TV series.
