Ant McPartlin breaks his silence on Kelly Brook feud during live TV outburst on I’m A Celeb
Ant McPartlin has been forced to break his silence on his bitter row with Kelly Brook following her I’m A Celebrity show, after she accidentally blasted him by calling his cooking ‘bad’.
Kelly, 45, is thought to have fallen out with Ant and his long-term presenting partner Declan Donnelly, both 50, after they accused him of being sacked from his role as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent.
Ant joined I’m A Celebrity Unpacked last night to discuss the night’s episodes with hosts Joel Dommett and Kemi Rogers.
He pointed out that celebrities were particularly bad at cooking this year, saying: ‘What they were given wasn’t terrible, was it? Even octopus is good if cooked correctly. They cooked it badly.
‘Every dinner they had I thought, ‘This looks stinky.’
It is thought they had a falling out when Kelly Brook accused Ant and Dec of being sacked from their judging duties on Britain’s Got Talent.
Ant McPartlin was forced to address the resurfaced row on last night’s I’m A Celeb Unpacked when he insisted ‘I don’t have a problem with Kelly Brook’.
Kelly had judged two shows on Britain’s Got Talent in 2007, before being unceremoniously dumped by Ant and Dec, who were upset they were not consulted when she was hired.
Kemi, 30, pointed out that the comment would be directed at Kelly and Martin Kemp, who are currently camp cooks.
Dec then turned to Ant and pointedly said: ‘What’s your problem with Kelly Brook?’
Exasperated, Ant said: ‘Don’t start! ‘I have no problem with Kelly Brook, thank you.’
Dec was candid about the feud in his 2010 autobiography, stressing that he couldn’t understand why he was put on BGT.
Kelly joined the third series of Britain’s Got Talent in 2009 as the original fourth judge alongside Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan; but he was fired after just one week when the format was deemed “too complex”.
Despite the statement, Kelly insisted Ant and Dec were behind the split due to an awkward exchange. Dec wrote in his memoirs: Ooh! What a Beautiful Couple: Our Story: ‘Kelly looked nervous, so I told her this would be great fun and to relax a bit…
He nodded, then looked at me and said: “So what are you doing on the show?” I looked at Simon sitting next to me. He turned to Kelly and said: “Kelly, you watched the show, right?” To which he replied: “Yes… well, a little bit.”
‘I don’t want to sound egomaniacal, but the last person said: ‘So what are you doing?’ ‘She was the Queen when I met her at ITV’s fiftieth anniversary party.’
Kelly insisted Ant and Dec were behind the split because of an awkward exchange on the show in which she asked what they were doing.
Kelly soon responded: ‘After Britain’s Got Talent’ there was nothing I could do in this country. People at ITV were telling me I had upset Ant and Dec and that was it. I would love to stay in the program…
‘I felt like it really worked. Ant and Dec didn’t seem nice to me at all but they clearly didn’t want me on the show.
‘Their ego is so high they’re thinking to themselves, ‘How can he think he can come to our show?’ they say, and have been vocal about their displeasure with my being there ever since.’
While watching the scenes, some fans began to remember that X had a history with one viewer writing: ‘Are people aware Kelly Brook, Ant and Dec have a serious fight between them?’
The pair admitted later in their book that they were ‘frustrated’ that they were not consulted about Kelly joining the show. Dec wrote: ‘We had two questions: ‘Why is there a fourth judge? and “Why Kelly Brook?” None of them could answer us…
“Frankly, as hosts of the show, we have to justify these things to the audience, and no one can give us a good reason why Kelly is on board.”
‘The simple answer was that Simon had decided it was a good idea without talking to anyone. We disagreed.’
He also criticized what the pair wrote about him in their book, writing: ‘As for Ant and Dec, good luck to them. They’re rich and happy, but they won’t be in my autobiography even if I’m in theirs!’
