I’m A Celeb’s Adam Thomas shares health battle responsible for brutal David Haye clash

Things are getting very tense in the I’m A Celeb South Africa camp, and it turns out there’s way more going on behind the scenes than people first realised.

Adam Thomas has now opened up about the reality of his time in the jungle, and why his clash with David Haye hit so hard.

ITV

During one particularly uncomfortable moment, Adam admitted he wasn’t feeling great and said he was “dehydrated”. That’s when David Haye went in on him, saying: “Stop whining about dehydration. You ain’t done sh*t since you’ve been here. You’re sitting up there going, ‘I’m dehydrated’.

“We’ve all got the same amount of water! Adam’s doing it, that’s it. Not well? What’s wrong with him? He’s a grown ass man.”

He didn’t exactly stop there either, later calling Adam a “useless man”, which t didn’t land well with Ant and Dec, who said he’d “crossed the line”.

What wasn’t obvious at the time is that Adam was dealing with a long-term condition that seriously impacted his time in camp. The actor has psoriatic arthritis, an autoimmune condition that causes joint pain, swelling and intense fatigue. Basically, not ideal when you’re sleeping outdoors and doing jungle challenges.

ITV

Explaining what it’s like to live with on Instagram, Adam said it causes “sh*t loads of pain” and that “it’s swelling, and it’s exhaustion”.

Looking back at his time on the show, he admitted it was tougher than it looked:
“Watching it back hasn’t been easy at all. There were moments I felt pushed to my absolute limit, and if I’m honest, times I didn’t even recognise myself.

“Living with arthritis is something I don’t really talk about, as much as I should do…but in there it really took its toll.

“My biggest fight was pretending to put on a brave face and trying to hide the pain. That can be exhausting within itself. There were days my body just didn’t want to keep going, but I did.”

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And when it came to his fallout with David, Adam didn’t hold back about how much it affected him.

“I wish I stood my ground instead of trying to keep the peace, but I’ve learned that being kind doesn’t mean being weak, and sometimes it takes going through tough moments to find your voice.”

He even admitted things got so intense he thought about quitting, adding: “He broke me in there, he pushed me to my limits, and I’ve told David this and he’s apologised and that’s that! I’ve moved on now, am not one to hold a grudge.”

ITV

As for David Haye, he’s also addressed the drama, but in a way that’s, erm, pretty on brand.

Despite the backlash and accusations of bullying, he insisted: “No bad blood from my side,” before going on to explain his perspective.

“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 Russiangiant. So 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 in there, honestly.

“I’ve spoken to Adam, I’ve said my piece, and some of what’s still to air will speak for itself. I’ll leave it there.”

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Featured image credit: ITV