I’m A Celebrity star Phil Tufnell reveals what really goes on in camp when show’s off air

This week, former I’m A Celebrity winner Phil Tufnell made an open letter to the reality of living in a jungle camp.

Phil, now 58, first appeared as a campmate on the second series of the ITV show, which aired in 2003 – with him voted the winner that year. The retired cricketer then competed on I’m a Celebrity… South Africa, which brought together campmates from previous series. The spin-off, which was based in South Africa rather than Australia, aired last year.

Before the most recent series final on Sunday night, he reflected on his experiences on I’m A Celebrity this week. The show has featured campmates like Dean McCullough, Coleen Rooney, Oti Mabuse and Tulisa Contostavlos this year.

Phil exclusively revealed to the Mirror that Phil and the campmates are not “having a great time every single day,” despite what the Daily Mirror may have reported. He suggested that the campers would experience boredom and “doing nothing” during these times.

When asked to share something about life in camp that would surprise viewers, Phil responded, “I mean the cameras don’t record the hours spent sitting around, doing nothing, and chatting.” I mean, all you do is sit around. If you do a bushtucker trial, you’re out, but other than that..”.

He added: “As the series goes on, you actually want to start doing things. People start nominating themselves for the trials, especially if they haven’t done one before. At the beginning, you’re sort of hiding a little bit. You then want to go through the trials and experience the entire jungle. […] It looks like everyone is running around, chatting and having a great time all of the time, but there is a lot of downtime”.

Phil, who has since retired from his sporting career, provided additional information about the jungle life in the interview. Discussing how frequently the famous campmates interact with hosts Declan Donnelly and Ant McPartlin were included.

Speaking about the presenters and the trials, he said: “They pop in, smelling fresh and shiny cheeked, say hello and then you’re whisked off for filming. Then they leave and stand in a corner under their umbrellas while you are tucked into a machine for the Bucktucker trial. The actual trials don’t take the time, it’s all of the rigmarole around it”.

And he acknowledged that the camp’s dynamics change once the evictions begin. He continued, “It starts to change as soon as you realize you are actually on a show.” However, you can get along with it in a way that’s simple.

Phil continued: “You are a jungle family, all getting on and then people start to go. It becomes evidently quieter, and perhaps you also lose a close friend or a partner. You start thinking, right we are getting through this now, because it does seem quite a long time in there”.

In an interview earlier this week, the former campmate revealed who he was rooting for. He stated that he hoped Barry McGuigan, a retired boxer who has since been kicked out of the camp, would succeed in the sport.

He added: “I also like Alan Halsall – is that Tyrone? I was surprised that Tulisa left – I didn’t see that one coming. Danny Jones is a good guy who stays put and always seems to be smiling. I like Coleen – I think she’s shown herself as a down to earth, normal woman. Oh, I like the vicar]Rev. Richard Coles] too, he is very calm”.

Sharing his thoughts on the latest series, Phil said at the time: “I think it’s everyone’s game at the moment. I’m enjoying it. It’s similar to the second season that I did, where everyone was friendly and helpful. That was a very special gift for me.

Follow Mirro R. C. Elias on Threads, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

Source: Mirror