Declan Donnelly, 49, was swiftly seen to by medics backstage on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! following a spider bite in the Australian jungle.
Dec had to receive urgent medical attention behind the scenes of the popular ITV show to ensure the spider’s bite was not dangerous.
Disclosing the terrifying ordeal during an Instagram Live session, his presenting partner Ant McPartlin stated: “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.”
The arachnid first made its presence known on a script, before jumping onto Dec’s neck.
Dec proved he was still in good spirits by jokingly saying: “The medic said I was lucky to be alive. If I wasn’t so fit and healthy, and masculine, I might not have survived,” reports the Express.
Ant humorously corrected him: “No, she didn’t, she said it was a jumping spider and it was absolutely fine.”
Although rare, bites from jumping spiders are not life-threatening and are most likely to cause minor symptoms such as redness, itching, or swelling.
Renowned for their astonishing agility, jumping spiders can propel up to 40 times their body length. Australia is home to approximately 10,000 species of spiders.
This incident wasn’t the first time that medics dashed to the campsite this year. They previously intervened during a halted Bushtucker Trial to aid Tulisa Contostavlos in an unaired moment.
The N-Dubz star was sent into a frenzy amid fears that an insect had burrowed into her ear, according to a source speaking to The Sun: “Mid-way through the trial, the show medics rushed in to help. Tulisa was convinced something was in her ear, but she wasn’t sure if it was a cockroach, cricket, or fly and had to have a syringe wash. She carried on after that, but she was horrified.”
In a separate development, Dean McCullough has put forward the unsettling notion that a trench foot outbreak is sweeping through the drenched camp.
I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! airs daily at 9pm on ITV.