'I might not have survived': I'm a Celebrity star 'lucky to be alive' after being bitten on the neck by spider

The incident happened behind the scenes on the show earlier this week. Ant McPartlin told fans of the pair about his onscreen partner’s run in with the critter on an Instagram Live video.

He said: “We’ve had quite a lot of drama not only on the show but off the show as well because Dec had a spider on his neck and was bitten by a spider and the medic was called in to have a look.”

Dec had a picture of the spider on his phone which he held up to the camera. He also showed the mark on his neck. He said: “Look at that spider, it bit me on the neck.”

He explained that it jumped onto his script before biting his neck. Dec then joked: “The medic said I was lucky to be alive. If I wasn’t so fit and healthy, and masculine, I might not have survived.” But Ant told the truth. He said: “No, she didn't, she said it was a jumping spider and it was absolutely fine."

As always, the Geordie pair have been on hand during this year’s I’m a Celeb to guide viewers through all the happenings of the previous 24 hours in camp, as well as interview the celebs who get voted out and, of course, eventually, the winner.

The duo sparked backlash from a number of viewers last week after some light-hearted comments they made about campmate Reverend Richard Coles, a retired Church of England priest. The regulator Ofcom received 70 complaints over the November 23 episode, and confirmed to Metro.co.uk that it was due to the duo's "references to the Bible and to the Christian faith".

Part of the issue for viewers was that the pair performed a fake sermon, complete with organ pipes playing in the background.