THE first two campmates have been eliminated from I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here… South Africa.
Friday (April 28) night's episode on ITV saw Shaun Ryder and Gillian McKeith eliminated from I’m A Celebrity.
The elimination came after six celebrities took part in the first survival challenge of the series – Savage Safari.
Andy Whyment and Jordan Banjo, Phil Tufnell and Georgia Toffolo, and Ryder and McKeith, all competed to free themselves from one another and hit a buzzer first.
Who saw that coming? #ImACeleb pic.twitter.com/T3zitCROtK
— I'm A Celebrity... (@imacelebrity) April 28, 2023
The challenge involved removing spanners from boxes filled with various creatures to loosen the chains.
Whyment and Banjo stormed the challenge and were first to free themselves, while McKeith was paralysed by touching snakes in the first box.
During the trial, when asked if he regretted his decision to choose McKeith as his partner, Ryder replied: “A little bit… but she’s my mate now and I can’t slag my mate off.”
The pair said that they had come “full circle” following their fiery clashes during their previous appearances on I’m A Celebrity… in 2010.
Shaun Ryder and Gillian McKeith reflect on their time on I'm a Celebrity
Following her exit, McKeith said participating in the series had been “a very positive experience”.
She said: “It was just a different feeling when I went into camp this time.
“People just seemed to be really open and wanting to get on with each other. There was no negativity, it felt positive from the minute I got there.
“Everybody wanted to gel. I could feel that it was a very different experience from 2010.”
Ryder said that he had “loved” the chance to be on I'm a Celebrity again.
He added: “I’m a bit of a slow learner to say the least, so it takes me a while to adapt, but I loved it.
“Whilst you’re at it and doing it, you don’t realise and I was thinking once I left, god yeah there were some great moments in there. I was over the moon.”
I'm a Celebrity campmates caught with contraband
Earlier in Friday night's episode, tensions flared briefly in camp after several celebrities were busted over bringing contraband into camp.
Former royal butler Paul Burrell, Myleene Klass and McKeith were all found guilty of smuggling items into camp.
Tufnell noted that the “drama” had made the camp atmosphere “flat”.
Toffolo talking to the Bush Telegraph, added: “There’s been a bit of a bizarre turn of atmosphere in the camp."
How do we book Gillian to pack our holiday suitcase? 😳 #ImACeleb pic.twitter.com/XtDl5PTdFt
— I'm A Celebrity... (@imacelebrity) April 28, 2023
Klass had brought in various spices, while Burrell had brought “a little bit of coffee”.
However, campmates were shocked, and even slightly impressed, after McKeith revealed she had smuggled in “a whole tuck shop” in her underpants.
The TV nutritionist produced a range of products from her “spicy knickers”, including thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil, stock cubes and 30 tea bags.
I’m A Celebrity… South Africa airs weeknights at 9pm on ITV and ITVX.
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