Why did Richard Madeley leave I’m A Celebrity? What happened to presenter - and why he was taken to hospital

Richard Madeley has said dehydration may have been the cause of him having to leave I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! for a hospital visit.

He was forced to withdraw from the show after breaking its “Covid bubble” to go to hospital.

The TV presenter was taken to hospital after falling ill in the I’m A Celebrity camp at Gwrych Castle, in Wales, but took to social media to say he is “fine”.

He was seen by an on-site medical team before being admitted to hospital as a precaution, ITV said.

Following his exit, the production fell victim to Storm Arwen with the remaining celebrities removed from the castle on the weekend while work was carried out to get the production base running again after technical issues due to extreme weather. It returned to screens on Tuesday night.

Here’s what you need to know about what happened and why he’s withdrawn from the show.

Why was Richard Madeley taken to hospital?

The TV presenter, 65, best-known for hosting This Morning and Richard & Judy, alongside his wife Judy Finnigan, and more recently Good Morning Britain,announced on Thursday he was departing the ITV show. It came after he was taken to hospital as a precaution when he fell ill in the early hours of the morning.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Monday morning, Madeley said: “I think what happened to me was I got dehydrated. I think that’s all it was.

“But dehydration, if anyone’s ever suffered from it, is actually quite disturbing. Basically I think I had been up for about 20 hours the day before.

“And the day before that we were having very long days and sleeping quite late, and we don’t have watches in there, but I don’t think I got to bed until about 4, 4.30 in the morning and I knew I was feeling thirsty and I’m quite bad at remembering to drink actually.

“And as I actually snuggled into my sleeping bag, it was freezing, I thought: ‘Ah, I haven’t had a big drink in a while, I’ll do it when I wake up’.

“The next thing I knew I was sitting there babbling, I was talking nonsense… I basically woke up I didn’t know where I was, what was going on and I could hardly string a sentence together.

“As it turned out, it was harmless, there was nothing wrong.

“I went to the hospital, had all the tests you can imagine, got a 100% clean bill of health and they were happy for me to go back in.”

What did he say about withdrawing from the show?

Madeley wrote on Instagram: “Hello all! Richard here – firstly just to say that I’m absolutely FINE. I started to feel briefly unwell in the small hours of the morning and was taken to hospital as a precaution.

“By leaving the camp, I had consequently broken the Covid ‘bubble’ and as such I’ve had to leave the castle and all the wonderful celebs that remain in the camp.

“Obviously I’m gutted to be leaving so soon but the safety of all the campmates is the number one priority. I’m incredibly excited to watch their journey continue … even more so at the prospect of being somewhere a little warmer than Gwrych Castle.

“Thank you to everyone who supported me on my brief but completely unforgettable adventure – I’ve made some great friends and honestly had the time of my life.”

An I’m A Celebrity spokesperson added: “Our strict Covid protocols means Richard has sadly had to leave the show as he is no longer in the bubble the celebrities form when entering the castle. He has been a truly brilliant campmate and we thank him for being part of this series.”

What did else has he said?

Madeley commended ITV for having a “proper duty of care” and said: “Then I spoke to a producer and they were very upset.”

He added that “they said we’ve been wracking our brains but there’s just no way” due to him having broken the Covid-19 bubble.

Asked if he would go back on a future series, he said: “A, it would depend on them asking me and God, I’ve only just come out… never say never, I mean I’d certainly consider it.”

What did ITV say?

ITV have released a statement on the issue.

They said: “Richard was unwell in the early hours and was immediately seen by our on-site medical team.

“He’s since been taken to hospital as a precaution; the health and safety of our campmates is our priority.”

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