Radio DJ Dean McCullough was the second contestant to be voted off this year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in last night’s episode.
The 32-year-old Irish star had faced six trials in total in the Australian jungle before viewers decided it was time for him to leave. As he returned to the hotel where his family members are staying ahead of the show’s finale, Dean received a hero’s welcome.
The moment he arrived back at the Marriott Hotel was captured by The Mirror As he entered the foyer with a smile on his face and his mum by his side while being cheered on from friends and family.
He posed for photos and thanked everyone before dishing out hugs to his loved ones. He also seemed surprised to see a Christmas tree as he admitted “We have so much catching up to do,” before the crowd started chanting: “Deano, Deano.”
During Sunday night’s episode, hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly announced that Dean had become the second person to leave the jungle. The deciding vote was between him and Irish boxer Barry McGuigan – who had just won 10 stars for the camp during his ‘impossible’ trial.
After being told to leave, he exclaimed: “I’m going home, I’m going home, I need my underwear, I’ll see you later! I’m going home! ” In the studio with Ant and Dec post-eviction, he shared: “Boys, it’s absolutely nuts. I still can’t believe I’m here.”
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Noting his lack of disappointment at the eviction, he confessed: “Not at all, I have really soaked up this whole experience. All the trials.”
Discussing his decision to shout ‘I’m a celebrity, get me out of here’ twice, he quipped: “You were so harsh! ” But Ant and Dec defended their stance as ‘tough love’, believing Dean could complete the tasks which they deemed “do-able”.
Dean’s departure followed closely after Jane Moore’s. The Loose Women presenter was the first to be voted out, calling her jungle stint “such a weird and magical experience”. Ant, however, wasn’t shocked by Jane’s early exit.
Reflecting on her time, Jane seemed to criticise some fellow campmates, stating: “Hard work doesn’t get rewarded.”
On the companion programme, Unpacked, Ant remarked: “I’m not surprised [she left] because I think she kind of hit the nail on the head.”
He elaborated by saying, “If you work hard down there and do loads of chores, and just get things done … not a lot of that is seen,” with Dec concurring that this can result in a celebrity slipping “under the radar a little bit”.
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