Ant and Dec fail to acknowledge Kelly Brook during awkward I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! reunion after their ‘bitter Britain’s Got Talent fallout’ as ITV show returns with a new cast of squeamish campmates

Ant and Dec awkwardly failed to acknowledge Kelly Brook in her first I’m A Celeb scenes on Sunday despite the pair knowing her for years – after their alleged bitter fallout.

Kelly is thought to have been at loggerheads with the famous pair since 2009, when she alleged they got her fired from her role as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, due to the fact she did not know what they did on the show, leading to a ‘clash of egos’. 

The model and actress insisted they had thwarted her career, saying after the axing: ‘There was nothing I could do in this country after Britain’s Got Talent. The people at ITV were telling me that I had upset Ant and Dec and that was it.’

Kelly’s first interactions with Ant and Dec came on episode one when she parachuted down onto the beach where the presenters were waiting. 

As the star prepared to jump out of her helicopter, she turned to the camera and yelled, ‘Ant and Dec, I’m coming for you!’ 

Joined by Aitch when they first landed the group had a bit of small talk but nothing further despite their history. 

When watching the scenes some fans began remembering that they had history with one viewer penning on X: ‘Do people realise Kelly Brook & Ant and Dec have serious beef with each other? #ImACeleb.’

Another added: ‘Just realised. Doesn’t Kelly Brook not like Ant and Dec after what happened at Britain’s Got Talent? #ImACeleb.’

Ahead of her stint in the jungle, Kelly looked to be extending an olive branch as she said in her pre-show interview about her dream camper: ‘Ant & Dec. They are very well dressed and it would be fun to be in with them to see how they survive.’

In their 2010 autobiography, Dec was candid about the feud – insisting he could not understand why she had been recruited on to BGT. 

Kelly joined the third series of Britain’s Got Talent in 2009 as the first ever fourth judge alongside Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan – however she was axed after just one week when the format was deemed ‘too complicated’. 

Despite the explanation, Kelly insisted Ant and Dec were behind the departure due to an awkward exchange. Dec wrote in his memoir, Ooh! What a Lovely Pair: Our Story: ‘Kelly looked nervous, so I told her it was going to be great fun and to just relax…

‘She nodded, then looked at me and said, “And what do you do on the show?”, I looked at Simon, who was sat next to me, he turned to Kelly and said, “Kelly, you have seen the show, haven’t you?” To which she replied, “Yeah… well, bits”.’

‘I don’t want to sound like an egomaniac, but the last person who said, “And what do you do?” was the Queen when I met her at the party for ITV’s fiftieth anniversary.’

Kelly soon hit back saying: ‘There was nothing I could do in this country after Britain’s Got Talent. The people at ITV were telling me that I had upset Ant and Dec and that was it. I would love to have stayed on the show…

‘I really felt it was working out. Ant and Dec had never been anything but pleasant to my face but, clearly, they didn’t want me on the show.

‘Their egos are such that they were saying to themselves “How dare she think she can come on to our show?”, and since then they’ve been very vocal about their displeasure at me being there.’

Further on in their book, the duo confessed they were ‘annoyed’ they hadn’t been consulted about Kelly joining the show. Dec wrote: ‘We had two questions: “Why is there a fourth judge?” and “Why is it Kelly Brook?” None of them could answer us…

‘Obviously, as hosts of the show, we have to justify that kind of thing to the audience, and no one could give us a good reason why Kelly was on board. 

‘The simple answer was that Simon, without talking to anyone, had decided it was a good idea. We didn’t agree.’

She also took a swipe at the duo for writing about her in their book, writing: ‘As for Ant and Dec, good luck to them. They are rich and they are happy, but they won’t be in my autobiography, even if I am in theirs!’

Ahead of the reunion, a source told The Sun: ‘How things ended with Kelly on Britain’s Got Talent was very upsetting. Both sides said things in anger afterwards, which meant the unpleasantness rumbled on.

‘It’s been a long time since they last worked together so understandably there is apprehension on both sides.

‘Kelly is determined for I’m A Celebrity to be a massive success – in stark contrast to her last experience working with Ant and Dec. It’s nerve-wracking that after such a bitter fallout, they’ll now be working together in such close proximity.

‘However their painful history won’t be referenced on air – it would be weird and honestly just plain awkward to do so.’

Loose Woman star Kelly is thought to be receiving a fee of £80,000 and not the estimated £300k that had been previously mooted. 

The presenter made a U-turn after being persuaded by husband Jeremy Parisi to take part in the show, after previously declaring she would never do it. 

Back in 2018, Kelly said there would be ‘a million’ other things she would rather do, like working in her local pub, than appear in the jungle. 

‘I don’t want to eat eyeballs or sheep testicles and all the things they have to eat on there,’ she said on her Heart radio show.

‘Even if I had a huge tax bill and I had to pay it really urgently, I still wouldn’t do it.’

I’m A Celebrity kicked off in spectacular style for the 25th series on Sunday night as the stars faced fish guts and offal in their first trial. 

Before they even set foot in camp, Kelly , was tipped the favourite to win by viewers who said on X: ‘It’s early days. But I want Kelly Brook to win’, while a squeamish Ruby Wax, 72, and AngryGinge, 24, were voted to do the first Bushtucker Trial.

Kelly, Shona McGarty, 34, Aitch, 25, Martin Kemp, 64, and comedian Eddie Kadi, 42, faced dizzying heights as they had to parachute out of helicopters and land near the star launch pad, where the presenters were waiting for them.

After landing with a bump on the beach, the celebrities had to battle it out for two coveted seats in the getaway car – the fastest, most direct route to camp which awards them the comfiest beds in camp and steak for dinner. 

The getaway car also allowed the two stars to enter the jungle in luxury with cocktails and canapés.

Speaking of his son Roman Kemp, 32, placing third on the show back in 2019, Martin said: ‘The pressure is on me to do a bit better than that. I’d love to say I don’t wanna win, but I do…’ 

After wading through offal and slime to unlock the key fob, Aitch and Eddie secured the win. 

Jack, 40, and AngryGinge also landed spots in the getaway car after they were the fastest to unscrew the bolts in another competition with the remaining campmates.

The road into the jungle wasn’t easy for the losers as Kelly, Martin and Shona, joined Alex Scott,  41, Ruby Wax, 72, and Lisa Riley, 49, in the grimy ‘cockie’ van.

The team were tasked with unlocking to retrieve stars for camp but in true I’m A Celeb style they faced thousands of critters.

Alex squealed: ‘They’re all down my bloody bra!’ while Kelly screamed: ‘Oh my god, they’re biting my t***!’

Kelly joked about Ruby flirting with Kiosk Kev who was driving the van, to which the comedian quipped: ‘I’ll straddle him!’. 

They secured six stars but were left unimpressed when emu neck arrived. 

Jack said he was ‘shocked’ when EastEnders actress Shona was the only celebrity to reluctantly volunteer to cook. 

Of the meal, Ruby said: ‘It was repulsive. For six stars we should have got a burger’. 

Ant and Dec then headed into camp to reveal which stars were up for the next Bushtucker Trial, named the Divey. 

AngryGinge and Ruby were voted by viewers to face the terrifying challenge.  

And while the launch got a good response from viewers some fans of the show were unhappy about the new introduction. 

They wrote on X: ‘They changed the opening titles?!’ and ‘Not sure about the new title sequence’.

Viewers were also in a frenzy over an apparent voting glitch, with some claiming the app wasn’t working as they tried to vote for the first Bushtucker trial of the series.

Taking to social media, one person penned: ‘I’m a celebrity is a fix. Can’t vote cos the app doesn’t work.’

‘Would be nice if they sorted this app out, it didn’t work for a lot of people and we weren’t able to vote.’

‘Is anyone having issues with the voting app? Why isn’t it letting me vote??’

‘Bro the app wasn’t even working.’

To find out more tune into I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! tonight at 9pm on ITV1, STV, ITVX & STV Player.

I’m A Celebrity…Unpacked airs nightly after the main show on ITV2, STV, ITVX & STV Player.