Craig Charles breaks down and accuses ITV of ‘watering down the aggressive and traumatic row between Jimmy Bullard and Adam Thomas’ and says scenes were too shocking to air

Craig Charles struggled to fight back his emotions as he hit out at ITV for ‘watering down’ the aggressive and traumatic row between Adam Thomas and Jimmy Bullard.

Craig, 61, struggled to get his words out as his voice cracked while talking about the feud discourse surrounding Adam, 37, on the show. 

He was joined by Sir Mo Farah and Harry Redknapp on ITV’s This Morning on Friday to talk about the upcoming live finale, which will hit screens tonight (April 24). 

Waterloo Road actor Adam was noticeably missing from the All Stars finale line-up as they joined Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary to speak about the show.

Craig hit out against ITV for ‘watering down’ the moment Adam and Jimmy clashed in a trial that would decide who got sent home and said scenes were too shocking to air.

He revealed that the campmates had been unaware that Adam was being affected by the ‘bullying’ in camp, and suggested ITV ‘didn’t think he was getting bullied enough to step in’.

Opening up on the incident between Jimmy and Adam, Craig said: ‘They watered down the Jimmy Bullard incident, it was unbroadcastable as it was. 

‘It was deeply traumatic and really upsetting, it was between the two of them, Adam was so wound up, he was so aggressive, like a coiled up spring, it looked like he was going to attack Jimmy. 

‘He was dropping f-bombs and c-bombs…  It really was traumatic and they couldn’t broadcast it, and I’m not blaming ITV, they couldn’t [put it out]. 

‘They had to water down what [viewers saw] but they didn’t water down our responses, so people were thinking, “Oh, it wasn’t that bad, why are they picking on Adam?”

‘We weren’t picking on Adam at all, it was just what he did.’

Addressing the ongoing ‘bullying’ row between Adam and former boxer David Haye, he continued: ‘Since we’ve got back, the last few weeks, it’s all been over social media that Harry, Mo and I were not there for Adam when he was getting bullied. 

‘Let me tell you a little story, it all started when they were the Rhinos, and me and Adam were Lions, and we were the underdogs – [they had] David Haye the boxer, Harry the gaffer, Ashley Roberts who was fit as a fiddle. 

‘You had me, a broken down TV star, Gemma Collins… but we won every challenge and we gave them dogs abuse, me and Adam, over the fence, ribbing them, jest and banter, we wrecked them. 

‘We were relentless, we poked the bear, and then David Haye came back at us – now, Adam gave as good as he got, he really did give as good as he got, he was laughing and we didn’t realise he was being emotionally affected by it. 

‘He never told us, I asked him yesterday, “Well why didn’t you tell us?” and he said, “I didn’t want to appear weak”. We didn’t know. 

‘ITV have got a duty of care, they have got 24/7 people on high definition close ups picking it all out, but they didn’t think he was getting bullied enough to step in – they have a duty of care, they would have stepped in if they thought he was being bullied.

‘We didn’t see it until that final morning when I thought David got a bit nasty, I thought, “This is turning into bullying, this, now” and on that final morning, I found myself in the perfect position, voting people out, I saved Adam knowing that the other two were not going to pick David, thereby ensuring David went home. 

‘We were there for him, we didn’t know the extent of his troubles.’ 

Struggling to hold back his emotions, he added: ‘I just remember tears of laughter, we laughed so much in that jungle, Adam laughed so much, and to come back and see it all reduced to a kind of like a grudge match, and it wasn’t. 

‘And nobody has asked about Jimmy’s feelings – again, ITV have got a duty of care, and everyone is talking about David had bullied Adam so much that he exploded on Jimmy but you don’t get bullied at work and go back home and beat your wife up.’ 

As his voice wavered, Alison stepped up and offered Craig a hug, with the two sharing an embrace as he calmed himself down as emotions ran high. 

Craig continued, pointing towards Harry: ‘These guys have suffered reputational damage with this social media campaign – they’re giving this 80-year-old man dogs abuse on social media just because he said, “I don’t like the way Adam reacted”. 

‘We didn’t like the way Jimmy reacted, we didn’t like the way Adam reacted.’ 

Alison chimed in, trying to calm the situation: ‘That is the problem with shows that are edited like that, and this was filmed such a long time ago, and I can imagine that this week has been absolute hell for all of you.’ 

Mo concluded: ‘The show is about being able to put all these people in one room and really get to know them – it’s incredible.’

Mail Online have contacted representatives at ITV for comment. 

It comes amid the ongoing ‘bullying’ row between Adam and former boxer David Haye – with the TV star breaking down and revealing he was in therapy after clashing with the athlete on the show. 

Adam had a fractious relationship with boxer David during their time together in the South African jungle, which was filmed in September last year.

David has since been accused of ‘bullying’ after a series of swipes towards Adam were aired, which, in one instance, saw him brand the actor ‘useless’ for excusing himself from a trial due to his health.

He took another vile swipe at Adam on social media on Tuesday night, and Adam has revealed he is now receiving therapy following their jungle run-in.

Speaking to his brothers Scott and Ryan on their At Home With The Thomas Bros podcast, Adam emotionally said the row ‘f***ed with him’.

Breaking down in tears, Adam said: ‘It was like being back in school again and although it wasn’t physical bullying or anything like that, and I’m not saying it’s bullying, but he was just mind-f***ing me.

‘And I just never stuck up for myself whilst I was in there and I was like, “S*** bro, I wish I stuck up for myself”. That was beating me up more than anything.’

Reflecting on David’s swipes, Adam said: ‘I just took it, and took it, and took it, until eventually it got to a point where I was like, “I’m literally at breaking point here”.’

He added that David has since apologised to him as he told his brothers the boxer has ‘a heart of gold’ – however, David went on to swipe against Adam despite his apology.

The boxer claimed that his co-star was ‘weak’ in a new interview, doubling down on the bullying row and branding Adam a ‘Chihuahua’.

He said: ‘Adam’s like a kind of chihuahua. I’m more of a doberman or a pitbull or something. He’s the chihuahua. He doesn’t need therapy. He needs to do some push-ups, he needs to get out there and get in amongst other males who are powerful.

‘I don’t think it’s bullying. If a few comments breaks him, how soft is he? How weak, how brittle-spirited is he’. 

Adam has autoimmune condition psoriatic arthritis and struggled with fatigue and dehydration in the jungle. 

But David insisted: ‘I didn’t know about it, but I couldn’t care less. Everyone’s got something. Adam was jumping around, dancing. I think whatever the trial was, he didn’t like the sound of it, so he’s lying in bed, so I gave him some s*** about that.’

The boxer went on to reveal that since leaving the jungle he has watched Adam and his two brothers Scott and Ryan’s TikTok videos which he claimed are ‘feminine’. 

David sparked bullying complaints from viewers when Adam, who suffers from autoimmune condition psoriatic arthritis, told his campmates during last Friday’s episode that he wasn’t feeling well enough to participate in the Termite Terror trial.

The boxer took aim at him, and said: ‘Who gives a s**t if he doesn’t feel well. He’s a grown-ass man. I don’t like guys who are a bit useless.

‘I hate them useless guys. He is useless.’

They clashed again when the camp was punished for Adam sneaking in chocolate for his campmates, with Adam suggesting that he wouldn’t eat that night as a result.  

However, David chimed in suggesting ‘his portion should be a little bit smaller than everyone else’s’ as he hit back against the camp for supporting him. 

Adam confronted David over his reaction to his dinner portion, calling him over and saying: ‘Right, me and you outside now.’

Irritated David responded: ‘We got a lot less than we would have had,’ as the dessert was served up, to which Scarlett Moffatt ended the row, saying: ‘Leave him alone.’

I’m A Celebrity hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly said they were left ‘uncomfortable’ by the exchanges in rare comments on spin-off series Unpacked.

Ant said: ‘It’s not a nice watch. He just kind of picks and picks at them.

‘Adam has had a bit of a tough time and he’s not coping well. Clearly the banter has got too much. But David won’t stop.’

Dec agreed: ‘It’s kind of crossed the line from banter. I don’t find it comfortable to watch.’ 

After leaving camp, David told the hosts on his relationship with Adam: ‘No bad blood from my side. Look, I’ve been immersed in tough boxing gyms since I was ten years old. Literally fighting daily, much bigger men than myself, pushing myself to the limits, physically and mentally. I won the world heavyweight championship against a seven-foot Russian giant.

‘When a grown man tells me that a fun TV show – where we’re being paid handsomely every single day – is the hardest thing he’s ever been through, it’s just not a frequency I recognise.

‘I was actually on my best behaviour there, honestly.’

In a new post to fans on Wednesday ahead of the I’m A Celebrity final, Adam shared a group shot with his female campmates Ashley, Scarlett, Sinitta, Gemma and Beverley.

Alongside the shot, he penned: ‘I just want to say thank you to all these incredible women…

‘You’ve supported me in ways I don’t even think you fully understand, through the doubt, the unknown, and all the moments in between. I’ve always had a soft heart but a strong soul, and this whole experience really tested that.

‘For months, I didn’t know how any of this would be perceived. Even though I stood by every decision I made, there was always that little voice wondering how it would be shown, how it would be edited, how people would see me. And that uncertainty wasn’t easy to carry.

‘But now, reading your messages, seeing your comments, feeling your support, it’s given me something I can’t even put into words. It’s brought me peace. It’s reminded me that staying true to myself was always enough.

‘I was never in it to win. I just refused to let them win by breaking me…’

Elsewhere, Adam reflected on his fiery clash with Jimmy, admitting he felt regret over their war of words following the challenge which would decide which celebrities would be eliminated. 

Shortly after the trial began as the former Waterloo Road actor was seen giving it his all, the former footballer was seen telling show hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly ‘I just don’t have it in me’.

He went on to call out the show’s iconic phrase: ‘I’m a celebrity, get me out of here!’ after abstaining from taking part in the challenge. 

Believing Jimmy had just secured his exit from the show, it prompted Adam’s fiery rant at Jimmy, shouting in his direction: ‘Are you f***ing taking the p***? Are you taking the p***.’

Things escalated as Adam approached Jimmy and continued: ‘I am in there getting covered in f***ing ants!’ before furiously branding his co-star a ‘p***k’. 

Jimmy retorted: ‘Woah, woah, woah – calm down, that’s pathetic’, but a furious Adam could be heard ranting off screen: ‘I’ve done all that… for him to say I’m A Celeb?’ 

Adam continued to shout as much of what he was saying was edited out with a series of bleeps, before he again confronted Jimmy: ‘If you wanted to go, then f***ing go,  don’t take me with you. What is up with you?

‘Tell me why! All you had to do was run though some f***ing mud and you said ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’. Go home then in camp, go home in camp, don’t do it on my f***ing watch.’ 

‘I am not a quitter bro, I don’t quit,’ he continued, before concluding: ‘I don’t f***ing quit you p***k. Don’t do the show then, bro. You chose to do the show.’

Now, Adam has admitted he regrets the way he acted during the challenge, putting his reaction down to the ‘random’ nature of Jimmy quitting the series. 

He said ahead of the ITV show’s final, which airs tomorrow (Friday April 24): ‘It was just really random and unexpected to be honest. I didn’t see it coming. 

‘Safe to say, I don’t think I was too happy about it. The fact I felt like I was leaving because of someone else just really broke my heart more than anything, as I wanted to do my kids proud. 

‘Emotions can get the better of you in there and in hindsight, I probably would never have reacted the way I did but I was just really upset.’

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! continues tonight at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.