Dean McCullough and I'm a Celebrity's other most targeted stars
The BBC radio host is having a tough experience in camp after being repeatedly picked for Bushtucker Trials.
Dean McCullough has had a tough first week in the I'm A Celebrity camp, finding himself taking on more than his fair share of trials.
The BBC Radio 1 DJ has been targeted by viewers in nearly every Bushtucker Trial vote so far, surpassing early favourite choice GK Barry as the campmate most of the fans want to see try to win stars for meals.
McCullough's screams, tendency to quit trials, and smuggling in contraband teabags could all have contributed to viewers voting for him, but the radio presenter has been left looking shocked and appalled at his nominations. Meanwhile, even host Ant McPartlin struggled to disguise his frustration at McCullough dropping out of a trial early.
No celebrity signs up to go into camp thinking it'll be a breeze, but some have a much tougher time on the ITV show than others.
These famous campmates found I'm A Celebrity the stuff of nightmares as they were voted into the Bushtucker Trials time and again by both viewers and their co-stars.
Whether it was because of their hilarious reactions to the task horrors, or as punishment for how they treated their campmates, these unlucky contestants took on more than their fair share of challenges — will McCullough join this hall of fame?
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Matt Hancock
One of the show's most controversial signings ever was former health secretary Matt Hancock, who entered the jungle following his much-criticised time setting Covid lockdown policy and breaking his own social distancing rules by being caught having an affair with his aide.
His co-stars spoke of their discomfort at sharing the 2022 camp with him and the viewers clearly agreed, as they voted for him to 10 trials after his late arrival to the show.
But as time wore on and Hancock gained increasing amounts of screen time, seemingly unfazed by most of the trials, critics started to wonder whether a better punishment might have been to ignore his presence entirely. Hancock went on to place third in the series.
Nigel Farage
If I'm A Celebrity viewers thought the choice of campmates couldn't get any more controversial, they were about to be stunned by the 2023 line-up which included UKIP and Reform UK leader — and close pal of Donald Trump — Nigel Farage.
You'd think viewers might have decided they'd seen enough of Farage when his bottom made an appearance on screen while he took a bath, but they fell into the same trap as with Hancock and voted him into nine of the trials.
The result was the same, with Farage incredibly making it into third place in the series final.
Paul Burrell
The former royal butler's expression of pure terror as he reached his arm into a cave full of rodents and bugs lives long in the memories of I'm A Celeb viewers.
Yes, his gossip from behind the scenes at the palace was fascinating, but Burrell will be best remembered for his gurning and high-pitched screeching that kept the viewers phoning in for him to take on trials.
Poor Burrell seemed completely unable to tone down his reactions and is still one of the contestants that first springs to mind when we hear the show's theme tune, even after appearing back in 2004.
Natalie Appleton
Every so often, a contestant comes along who leaves viewers scratching their heads over why they ever agreed to go to the jungle in the first place.
Former All Saints singer Natalie Appleton is possibly the best example of just such a celebrity, having been completely terrified by a range of scenarios involving rats, snakes, spiders, bugs, heights, water and confined spaces.
The cruel viewers may have thought it was hilarious to keep plunging Appleton into fresh traumas, but as she began to refuse to continue earlier and earlier each time, the frustrated campmates started to go extremely hungry.
When Appleton was voted into her fifth trial, she decided enough was enough and quit the camp, telling hosts Ant and Dec "I have nothing left".
Janice Dickinson
Former supermodel Janice Dickinson was the 2007 camp's most glamorous campmate, and also the most disgusted by the range of jungle horrors the tasks involved.
Sadly for Dickinson, she didn't seem to realise that the stronger her reactions to the trials, the more likely viewers were to vote her in again the next day.
Fans of the show also loved her animosity with Lynne Franks, who she fell out with before they'd even left the hotel, and couldn't get enough of her outraged screams as critters were dropped on her.
Gillian McKeith
Health food guru Gillian McKeith must have been one of the show's least popular campers ever, thanks to sneaking in contraband items, rowing with the other celebs, and making a very lacklustre effort at trials in 2010.
As is usually the case, as soon as viewers sniffed out that McKeith was scared of quite a few things, they mercilessly voted her into trials again and again.
The pinnacle of McKeith's jungle stay was watching her appear to "fake faint" during a live group trial which she really, really didn't want to do.
Helen Flanagan
Falling under the same category of universally terrified celeb as Natalie Appleton, former Corrie star Helen Flanagan entered her jungle nightmare in 2012.
The soap star admitted she had considered herself strong-minded and expected to find the trials easy, but cried and screamed her way through the ones she was able to do and refused to even begin some, leaving her starving campmates angry.
Read more: All the winners of I'm A Celebrity so far
She told Ant and Dec on leaving: "Ever since I've been here I've just been absolutely cringing about how bad I'm going to look in these trials, thinking this is so humiliating - I will never be able to live this down."
Flanagan has since claimed that producers pushed her off a high platform she couldn't bring herself to jump from and has labelled herself the worst contestant ever, saying: "I think I was a warning to other people who thought it could be an easy ride."
Lady C
Another campmate to go down in jungle history was 2015's Lady Colin Campbell, one of the most eccentric celebrities to have taken part.
She wasn't afraid to get into a raging argument with her co-stars and couldn't hide her emotions when it came to the trials, all of which made her a hugely popular choice to be voted into them by fans.
Lady C exasperated her campmates by flat out refusing to take part in some of the challenges, but amazed them by taking on the notorious eating trail with no problems other than to complain about the quality of the cutlery.
She may well have been in the running for Jungle Queen, but four days before the final Lady C shocked everyone by walking from camp.
Jacqueline Jossa
Ex-EastEnder Jacqueline Jossa started out in the same ilk as Natalie Appleton and Helen Flanagan as the 2019 series scaredy-cat, but turned things around quite incredibly.
She found herself in the role that no celebrity wants to be in as she was continuously voted in to trials by viewers, many of which left her in tears, shaking and unable to complete.
But with the support of her friends in camp, Jossa gradually built her confidence, enjoyed some trial triumphs, and was eventually voted the series winner for her journey to bravery.
Jordan North
Poor old Jordan North achieved something of a first when he vomited over a cliff during the challenge just to enter camp - before the series had even really started.
He was huge entertainment value in the 2020 series, the first to take part in Wales, as he pep talked himself through trials by chanting "happy place Turf Moor" to remind himself of better days at his beloved Burnley FC ground.
Like Jossa, his perseverance paid off and he overcame many of his fears to take him all the way to the series final.
Shane Richie
Radio DJ Jordan North wasn't the only celebrity in the 2020 series to find himself voted into trials time and time again.
Actor Shane Richie was also a popular choice in the public vote, thanks to being part of a ridiculously nice bunch of campmates.
Richie didn't actually do much wrong, but with no camp villain available, viewers honed in on him for a number of practical jokes and comments made in frustration to "punish" him with trials.
However, the cheery contestant took each one with good humour and gave it his best shot to win meals for camp.
Naughty Boy
The music producer took part in the 2021 series where he set the unenviable record of being voted into more trials in a row than anyone else.
His constant threats to leave which always came to nothing, and complaints about the hardships of being in camp, annoyed viewers enough to set him up for seven trials back to back.
But despite his rocky ride, Naughty Boy was only actually the fifth celebrity voted out and even managed to form a close friendship with campmate Dame Arlene Phillips.
