I’m A Celebrity fans slam Ant and Dec for ‘shameful’ Shaun Ryder joke

Fans of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of here have slammed presenters Ant and Dec after a ‘shameful’ joke they made about Shaun Ryder.

Ant and Dec returned to our screens on Monday night (April 24th) to host the new spin-off I’m A Celeb series set in South Africa.

A number of famous faces who have previously headed Down Under to compete in the jungle-based competition all agreed to go through the trials and tribulations of camp life once again.

But this time in the brand new setting of Kruger National Park — one of the largest game reserves in Africa, located in Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

The challenges are bigger and tougher and the environment harsher and more unforgiving. And with no public vote, the celebs will be competing against each other in a battle to become the first ever ‘I’m A Celebrity Legend’.

Carol Vorderman, Amir Khan, and Jordan Banjo faced the first terrifying trial of the series, which saw them walk along a platform high above the ground and dangle in the air to collect codes and earn stars.

Then, as they introduced the next trio, Ant and Dec made a dig at Shaun’s past struggles with drug addiction before his scenes aired — something Shaun has been open and honest about over the years. 

The Geordie duo joked about the contestants being ‘higher than Shaun was in the 90s’.

Ant said mockingly: “Welcome back to I’m A Celebrity… South Africa. So we’ve met our first three contestants – Carol, Amir, and Jordan. And before they could head into camp, they faced a challenge that meant they would be higher than Shaun Ryder in the nineties.” 

Dec added: “Wow… wow. That is high.” Fans of the show rushed to social media to share their reaction to the comments.

Fans of the show dashed to social media to share their reaction to the comments. One tweeted: “OMG, Ant and Dec did not just make that joke about Shaun.”

Another said: “Ant and Dec went too far with that joke… Christ.” A third wrote: “Shameful, disrespectful. Mocking is for degenerates. He’s forgotten more than you pair will ever know. SHOW RESPECT.’’

And a fourth added: “Love Shaun. He has always owed his drug battle and has been an inspiration to so many.”

Shaun’s heard it all over the years, but the 60-year-old was keen to tell his co-stars, including Amir Khan, that he wasn’t a ‘t**t’ who wore sunglasses in the dark for the sake of it, saying: “I’m not a t**t wearing sunglasses when it’s dark. I’ve got no eyelashes, so all the s**t gets in my eyes.”

But Amir reassured him with a pat on the shoulder, telling the singer: “Oh, don’t worry!” Back in 2019, Shaun explained the reason behind his changed appearance as ‘all his body hair falls out’.

The Manchester music legend spoke to Good Morning Britain and Radio X about being diagnosed with unexplained alopecia following hip surgery. Shaun, said that he has ‘no eyelashes, no fingernails, no head, no hair whatsoever’, leaving doctors completely baffled.