Richard Madeley was not given preferential treatment, says Welsh health board

Richard Madeley was not given 'VIP treatment' says the Welsh hospital he visited during his appearance on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

The 65-year-old TV presenter was forced to quit the ITV reality show last week after he suffered a 'funny turn' caused by dehydration and was sent to hospital for a health check.

The Good Morning Britain began speaking incoherently at around 4.30am in the morning on Thursday, November 25, and was sent to hospital for tests, only to return later the same day for an exit interview with hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.

This sparked speculation on social media as to the speed of Madeley's hospital visit at a time when NHS accident and emergency waiting times are known to be at a crisis point.

A spokesperson for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said: "In media coverage of Richard Madeley’s recent hospitalisation, there has been a tacit suggestion that he was given preferential treatment.

"We are unable to comment on the prioritisation or treatment of any individual patients.

"However, we wish to remind people that in line with the founding principles of the NHS, we always prioritise patients on the basis of clinical need, irrespective of their celebrity status."

Madeley said afterwards: "I think I got dehydrated, that's all it was.

"I went to the hospital had all the tests you can imagine, and I've got 100% clean bill of health — by then I'd had a cup of tea and a drink of water. And I was back on the rails."

The TV presenter was not allowed to return to the camp at Gwrych Castle in north Wales as he had broken the show's coronavirus restrictions by going to hospital.

At the weekend all the celebrities were removed from the castle for their own safety, after Storm Arwen struck the production site, causing severe damage.

The contestants — including footballer David Ginola, pop star Frankie Bridge and music producer Naughty Boy — isolated separately in hotels, with no access to phones, internet or TV, in order to maintain the show's Covid bubble.

They returned to the camp on Tuesday morning.