I'm A Celebrity winner Adam Thomas has opened up about his feud with David Haye, revealing the shocking moment the boxer mocked him for fainting in camp. The pair were at the centre of a bullying row, with viewers left uncomfortable by scenes where Haye branded the Emmerdale actor 'useless' for not volunteering for a Bushtucker trial due to illness.
Although Adam was eventually crowned winner in a tense live finale last week, he previously revealed that he turned to therapy over the experience. In the latest episode of his podcast, At Home With The Thomas Bros, he detailed the moment he 'finally' defended himself against his co-star's taunts.
'It only got to the point where I finally stood up for myself because of a trial I did,' he told siblings Scott and Ryan Thomas. 'I don't know if you can remember it, but there was a ball on this wooden spoon. I felt my knees going, like I was going to collapse. In all honesty, I just threw the ball. I pretended like I had an itch on my elbow and I just wanted out of the game because I couldn't stand on my feet any longer.'
'On the way back from that trial, I fainted. I've never fainted before in my life, I was shook up, I started crying, everyone's around me. And when I started hearing all the other voices around me, all I could hear in that moment was David just coming for me, still, whilst I was on the floor. He was goading me, going, 'Come on you p***y, get up! What you fainting for?''
'In that moment, I felt such anger towards him, that was the final straw for me. When I got back to camp, I slept it off and then next morning I thought, 'It's going to be over, surely.' The first thing I heard when I opened my eyes that day in camp was him taking the p**s out of me for fainting. That's when I finally blew it and stood up for myself. Enough is enough now.'
Since returning to the UK, many of the campmates have shared their view over the intense footage. Sinitta initially insisted that there was no 'bullying' before performing a U-turn after the explosive finale. Sharing his view, Adam continued: 'I laughed it off and pretended like it was alright, so I can see it from the other campmates perspective, through their lens, why it might seem like it was banter and not bullying. I understand it. But I'm telling you my truth and how I felt in there, and I'm telling you now, it was bullying.'
'I spoke to David, when I got out, and I asked him why he did it,' he added. 'He told me, 'I've never met a nicer guy, I just wanted to break you'. If that isn't classed as bullying, I don't know what is.'
Adam also came to blows with Jimmy Bullard during a trial, and lashed out when the former footballer decided to quit the challenge, putting them both at risk of going home. In the finale, he came face-to-face with the pair for the first time, leading to chaos and walk-offs. While he eventually won the show, he was visibly upset by the time the credits rolled, and reportedly threw his crown and sceptre down after the show ended.
An insider told the Mirror: 'Adam's family were there at the start then the second he was crowned they got up and left so abruptly, you could feel the energy. It felt so uncomfortable for people. Adam looked like a shadow of himself - he's not the same man we watched on TV. He looked vacant and a lot thinner, it was really sad to see.'
