'I'm A Celebrity' fans complain roast dinner trial was 'impossible' – but Ant and Dec disagree
I’m A Celebrity fans are claiming James Haskell and Roman Kemp were stitched up with an “impossible” trial – although show hosts Ant and Dec have said completing the challenge was no problem in rehearsals.
Sunday evening’s live Bushtucker Trial on the ITV show saw the camp tasked with taking on a number of Love Island-themed games, with the added addition of jungle critters.
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The celebrity campers were aiming to win stars that each represented a roast dinner for a contestant, and had done a sterling job by winning all meals up to the last three available, with trials including dunking their faces in buckets of bugs, and Ian Wright valiantly downing a glass of blended pigs’ penises.
Haskell and Kemp are rarely daunted by a challenge and were up last, lying in a bed of snakes as they tried to unscrew stars from boxes filled with crabs, spiders and cockroaches and screw them into new boxes in the space of 90 seconds.
Just when they thought they could enjoy a comfortable bed for a few minutes... @romankemp @jameshaskell #ImACeleb pic.twitter.com/3hqQoL6aqs
— I'm A Celebrity... (@imacelebrity) November 24, 2019
The pair didn’t manage to earn any stars, leaving Ian Wright, Andy Whyment and Cliff Parisi as the only campers without roast dinners – and Haskell was not happy.
As presenter Dec told him he’d been unlucky, Haskell snapped: “What was it? It was the very fact there was a giant crab in the way that you wanted me to carefully caress in a different direction as I tried to unscrew a star in its face.”
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Viewers agreed that the trial had been unfair, claiming it was impossible to complete in 90 seconds, particularly when the crab had fasted its pincer around one of the screws.
#ImACeleb That final live trial segment was near impossible. Just unfair on the camp mates
— Meep Morp (@carparkwarden) November 24, 2019
Feel like the producers had to stick an impossible trial in there just so someone or three goes without a roastie #ImACeleb #ImACelebrity2019
— G1llyW1lly (@GillHayward1) November 24, 2019
Last trial was an absolute joke, 90 seconds was impossible, are they tying to create some drama by making sure some celebs don’t get fed? #ImACeleb
— Dani (@D_Elysia_K) November 24, 2019
#ImACeleb that last task was impossible in 90 seconds even without the critters! Unfair 😡
— Karen Robertson (@karenrob999) November 24, 2019
Some were so outraged that they even launched a petition over Roastgate.
Can someone pls start a petition so that Ian, Andy & Cliff get a roast dinner 😭 #imaceleb
— Coral (@JustCogz) November 24, 2019
ITV plc: Give Ian Wright a Roasty - Sign the Petition! https://t.co/jv8zd3jk4Z via @UKChange
— kevin (@Gxbibol) November 24, 2019
However, Ant and Dec weren’t about to let the criticism slide and tweeted that in a practice run, the trial stand-ins had no problem in getting the job done.
The stand ins did it when we tested it 🤷🏻♂️ #ImACeleb https://t.co/o2h5ygS3RI
— antanddec (@antanddec) November 24, 2019
But I’m A Celebrity: Extra Camp contributor and former contestant Alison Hammond had an idea about what might have made the difference...
Well @antanddec were the stand ins starving and weak from not having any food ? 😬
— Alison Hammond (@AlisonHammond) November 24, 2019
The Geordie duo also agreed with one viewer that the campers had simply gone about the trial in the wrong order.
I agree. D #ImACeleb https://t.co/aRRsyG5y6j
— antanddec (@antanddec) November 24, 2019
Four of the celebrities didn’t take part in the live trial as they were doing a different challenge to win each contestant’s care packages, which will be seen in Monday night’s episode.