Tearful Beverley Callard breaks her silence as she’s forced to quit I’m A Celebrity South Africa over ill health

Beverley Callard broke down in tears during Saturday night’s episode as she was forced to shockingly leave I’m a Celebrity South Africa after falling ill at camp.

The 69-year-old actor explained that he fell ill and ITV told him that he could not continue the program due to his health condition.

He said: ‘I have something to tell you all. This morning I wasn’t feeling well and had a bit of a funny situation and they said I couldn’t come back and had to leave.

‘I’m absolutely devastated. ‘I don’t want to go’.

Campmate Ashley Roberts reassured her, saying, ‘You should take care of yourself and see you in a few days.’

Bev, who recently announced that she is battling cancer, continued: ‘I don’t want this to end. ‘I wanted to prove that older women could do this’.

As the man burst into tears, his campmates were left shocked by the departure, saying: ‘So sad to see him walk out like that’, while Scarlett Moffatt added: ‘The camp won’t be the same without him.’

The actress revealed that she fell ill during the night and ITV told her she would not be able to continue the show due to her health condition.

The series was pre-recorded in the Kruger National Park last year, and four months into filming Beverley was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer.

Bev said she was having the ‘wonderful’ time of her life after being forced to leave for medical reasons.

He said: ‘I had the experience of my life. The people were amazing. They were the best people ever. Yes, we were hungry and dirty, but it was great.’

Bev continued: ‘This time has completely overshadowed 2020. I’m so glad I said yes because I had to think about it. I’ve encountered errors before, did I really want to do this again?

‘Also, having a new hip last time, there were a lot of challenges I wasn’t allowed to do. I hated it because that’s not who I am. I wanted to be ready for anything and this time I could.

‘Sunlight and climate changed everything. ‘This totally knocked 2020 out of the park.’

Bev previously appeared in the 20th series of the hit show hosted by my Ant and Dec in 2020, the 20th of which was held at Gwrych Castle in Wales.

The star finished fourth with Giovanna Fletcher crowned queen of the castle.

Beverley held her own throughout the series, and as well as spending time at the very basic Savannah Scrub camp, she also took part in a parachute jump attempt.

He said: ‘I have something to tell you all. I didn’t feel very well and it was a bit weird and they said I couldn’t come back and I had to leave. ‘I’m absolutely devastated. ‘I don’t want to go’

Ashley Roberts reassured her, saying, ‘You should take care of yourself and see you in a few days.’ Bev added: ‘I don’t want this to end. ‘I wanted to prove that older women could do this’

He said: ‘When they put us in base camp it was like we’d been moved to a five-star hotel! Savannah Scrub was terrible.

‘We couldn’t figure out how to flush the toilet, we couldn’t figure anything out, we had no idea how to cook.’

More recently, Beverley opened up about her health after having surgery for breast cancer, revealing that the disease had spread to one of her lymph nodes.

The Coronation Street legend announced his heartbreaking early-stage diagnosis on February 6 and 14 days later underwent surgery to remove multiple lymph nodes as a precaution.

Speaking in an Instagram video last week, he said his cancer had been successfully removed but it had spread.

Beverley said that after an agonizing two-month wait for results, her consultant at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital told her the surgery ‘went really well’ and ‘they had destroyed the cancer’.

In the video, the actor added: ‘They are happy with how the surgery went and they also removed three lymph nodes.

‘And he explained it to me like this: Lymph nodes are like a ladder, and if the cancer is in the lymph nodes, it tends to kind of climb the stairs. This is oversimplifying the issue, but just to help explain.’

Beverley continued: ‘They took three of them and the cancer was in the first lymph node, not the second, then two and the third. So it’s there but it’s only small.’

The lymph node containing the cancer will be ‘sent to America’ to determine ‘how aggressive’ the disease is and Beverley will find out within a few weeks.

He said: ‘If it’s aggressive, I’ll have to undergo chemotherapy and then radiotherapy.

Adam broke down in tears as his camp mates were shocked as he exited, saying: ‘It was so sad to see him walk out like that’, while Scarlett Moffatt said: ‘The camp won’t be the same without him’

‘If it is not aggressive I will have radiotherapy as planned. So now I have to wait and see again.’

Beverley told how bittersweet she felt after learning the results, adding: ‘In a way it was good news that the surgery had gone well and I’m really pleased with that but it’s still worrying as it was in the lymph nodes. And there’s still a waiting period, which is a pain.

‘But here we go, and I’m sure many of you have experienced the same thing. That’s the state of the game.’

Earlier this month, Beverley said she ‘couldn’t bring a smile to her face’ as she revealed her breast cancer surgery results had been delayed due to a backlog.

The soap star revealed she was battling the disease after being diagnosed just after moving to Dublin to start her new job on Irish soap Fair City.

I AM A CELEBRITY ALL-STARS 2026: MEET THE CAMPING FRIENDS

GEMMA COLLINS

GC appeared on the 14th series of I’m a Celebrity in 2014.

AGE: 45

SHERRY: 2014 (series 14) Released after 72 hours

JOB: Reality star

FAMOUS: Gemma, popularly known as The GC, rose to fame in the reality series The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE). She is known for her extraordinary ‘diva’ personality.

ASHLEY ROBERTS

2012 runner-up Ashley says going on I’m a Celebrity has been life-changing

AGE: 44

SHERRY: 2012 runner-up (12th series)

JOB: Heart Radio presenter, Pussycat Doll

FAMOUS: Ashley Roberts is Heart Breakfast’s showbiz correspondent. She rose to fame with the girl group Pussycat Dolls in the 2000s.

SIR MO FARAH

Sir Mo Farah, 43, hopes to overcome his fear of snakes

AGE: 43

SHERRY: Ranked fifth in 2020 (series 20 takes place in Wales)

JOB: Olympic

FAMOUS: Sir Mo is the most successful British track and field athlete in modern Olympic history. He won gold medals in both the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

DAVID HAYE

Former World Champion boxer David Haye thinks nothing can scare him in the jungle

AGE: 45

SHERRY: 2012 finished third (12th series)

JOB: Boxer

FAMOUS: David is a legendary British former professional boxer. He is one of only three boxers in history to unify world titles at cruiserweight and become world heavyweight champion.

SCARLETT MOFFATT

Scarlett Moffatt, 35, admitted she was worried about the forest

AGE: 35

SHERRY: 2016 Queen of the Jungle (series 16)

JOB: Reality star

FAMOUS: Scarlett became a TV favorite after joining Gogglebox. He won the I’m A Celebrity award in 2016.

SEANN WALSH

Since Australia Seann Walsh is now a proud father of two

AGE: 40

SHERRY: 2022 finished in fifth place (22nd series)

JOB: Comedian

FAMOUS: Seann Walsh is a comedian who was caught up in a cheating scandal in 2016 when he starred in Strictly alongside professional partner Katya Jones.

SINITTA

62-year-old Sinitta hopes she can finally overcome her phobia of ‘everything’

AGE: 62

SHERRY: 2011, voted runner-up (series 11)

JOB: 80’s pop star

FAMOUS: Sinitta first achieved worldwide fame in the 1980s with hits such as So Macho and Toy Boy. He was also known for his guest appearances on The X Factor.

Jimmy Bullard

Former footballer Jimmy, 47, will join co-stars Gemma and Craig

AGE: 47

SHERRY: 2014 (10th place)

JOB: Former football player

FAMOUSKnown as ‘The Bulldog’, Jimmy was a highly technical and energetic midfielder who became a cult hero for his sense of humor and iconic celebrations.

ADAM THOMAS

Adam’s son Teddy was just two years old when he first entered the Australian bush.

AGE: 37

SHERRY: Third place in 2016 (16th series)

JOB: Actor

FAMOUS: Adam is famous for his starring roles in Waterloo Road and Emmerdale. It recently returned to Waterloo Road for its 20th anniversary.

HARRY REDKNAPP

Harry Redknapp won the 18th series of I’m a Celebrity in 2018.

AGE: 79

SHERRY: Series 18 in 2018. I am the Famous King of the Jungle.

JOB: Legendary football manager

FAMOUS: Harry Redknapp’s professional football career has spanned more than 60 years, progressing from a skilful winger to one of the best-known managers in Premier League history.

CRAIG CHARLES

Corrie legend Craig, 61, was another celebrity who starred in the 14th series.

AGE: 61

SHERRY: Released early 2014

JOB: Actor

FAMOUS: Craig is most famous for his role as Dave Lister in the cult sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf and his role as Lloyd Mullaney in the long-running soap opera Coronation Street.

BEVERLEY CALLARD

Beverley was part of the first series to take a wicket in Wales in 2020.

AGE: 69

SHERRY: 2020 ranked tenth (20th series)

JOB: Actress

FAMOUS: Beverley I played the Coronation Street song The iconic Liz McDonald has been running on and off for 31 years.