I'm a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here: 5 bushtucker trial fails where celebs have gone back to camp with fewest stars
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The I’m a Celeb campmates are most likely absolutely starving at the moment, as Dean McCullough and GK Barry failed to win any stars on the most recent bushtucker trial, Drown in the Dumps.
Hosts Ant and Dec, who like to frequently remind the celebs faced with the trials that the more stars they get the more meals are sent in to camp, explained that one of them would have to go into the bottom of a water-filled tank, while the other one in the top.
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Hide AdMcCullough, who was in the top one, had to try and find the holes to find the keys, which was then dropped down to Barry in the bottom one. The pair really struggled, and were visibly upset at not being able to secure any stars.
But, the pair aren’t the only ones who have struggled with bushtrucker trials in the show’s 22 year history. Here are five of the most memorable bushtucker trial disasters where celebs went back to camp with a very low amount of the 10 stars available.
Gillian McKeith
Who can forget when nutritionist and TV personality Gillian McKeith fainted before she had a chance to even attempt a bushtucker trial back in 2010?
The star had been nominated for her seventh consecutive bushtucker trial in the jungle when, during a live trial, she collapsed and an onsite medic had to rush in to give her aid.
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Hide AdMany accused her of faking the collapse to avoid the trial, but she has always insisted it was genuine, saying she hadn’t eaten much that morning and does have a history of fainting.


Natalie Appleton
Girlgroup All Saints member Natalie Appleton quit the jungle in 2004 after being voted to do a fifth consecutive bushtucker trial by the voting public.
When told she had been nominated for her fifth trial, the singer said: “You have got to be kidding. I have nothing left." Directing her comments at the show's hosts, Ant and Dec, she asked: "Are you not bored of me?"
Appleton had only managed to collect a few stars during her previous trial attempts, leaving her campmates hungry. She ha had to face her fear of heights, had been dumped in 5ft-high boxes filled with slime and bugs, and had tried to eat fish eyes and kangaroo testicles.
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Hide AdOn her fourth trial, Slither River, which she completed the day before she left, she had won just one star. The singer had complained she had no energy because she had not eaten properly for so long, and told the producers she wanted to leave after learning viewers wanted to face yet more torment.
Helen Flanagan
Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan, best known for playing Rosie Webster in the ITV soap, was voted to do seven bushtucker trials in a row when she went in to the jungle in 2012 - but she didn’t do very well in any of them.
During one of the trials, Rodent Run, she had to be coaxed to think about attempting the trial by Ant and Dec. But, one she was in place and the klaxon sounded to signify that the trail had started, she had a complete change of heart. She told the hosts she was “freaking out” and asked to stop the trail before it had even begun.
In another challenge, called Bug Burial, she also lasted just ten seconds. In one trail, called Come Dive with Me, she did manage to secure four stars - but they were taken back as she broke the rules by collecting them with her hands rather than her teeth.
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Hide AdIain Lee
TV host and comedian Iain Lee took part in the show in 2017, but said he “thought he was going to die” during his failed trial attempt.
The underwater trial involved him swimming through a number of underwater boxes, but the TALKradio host struggled to breathe and needed oxygen afterwards.
He later explained during an appearance on ITV talk show Loose Women: “When you go onto I’m A Celebrity you get asked all these questions on these forms and one of the questions is “can you swim?” And I wrote yes. But I should have wrote… kind of. Because I can’t swim underwater very well. So it was horrendous. It was that tiny space.”
He went on to say he was so scared in the “horrendous” trial that at one point he genuinely thought he was going to die as the producers didn’t respond to his rescue signal.
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Hide AdHe said: “It was a proper dangerous Trial. Also Ant and Dec said, ‘if you’re under the water and you can’t speak do this [hand gesture] and that will be I’m A Celebrity and we’ll pull you out’.” “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here” usually the phrase celebs have to say if they want a bushtucker trial to stop.
He went on: “There was a bit when I was under there and I was panicking and I couldn’t breathe and I was doing that [hand gesture] and no one came to rescue me. I did think, “Oh my god, I’m actually going to die on TV” – it was horrendous.”
Lee returned to the camp with no stars.
Lady C
Lady C was voted to take part in numerous trials during the 2015 series. It was when she saw one, Panic Pit, that she refused to after seeing what it involved.
Taking place in a hole in the ground, the challenge required her to endure 10 minutes in the enclosed space while various beasties were unleashed.
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Hide AdHowever, after seeing the task Lady C said: “I’m not starting it, sorry.” She explained: “I have a cousin who was murdered by being buried alive, I’m not doing anything that is coffin like or involves coffins. I’m really sorry about this, I would gladly be a sport.”
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