ITV bosses were left red-faced after mistakenly calling Jimmy Bullard the ‘King of the Jungle’ on social media.
21:26, 07 Apr 2026Updated 21:34, 07 Apr 2026
Ant and Dec are fronting a new series of I’m A Celeb from South Africa(Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
I’m A Celebrity South Africa sparked confusion after sharing a post about the “King of the Jungle”. The All Stars series has returned to ITV, featuring the likes of former Fulham and Hull football favourite Jimmy Bullard, who first graced the programme back in 2014.
Before this season’s launch, the I’m A Celebrity Facebook page posted a photo of 47-year-old Jimmy dressed in his South Africa camp uniform. The caption read: “Does former King of the Jungle, Jimmy Bullard, have what it takes to win the Legend crown too?”
However, viewers were quick to flag a glaring error, as Jimmy had actually been the first contestant eliminated during his 2014 appearance. One user posted on X: ” Carl Fogarty won the year he was on?” Another chimed in: “He didn’t win, he was out first because of his banter with Jake Quickenden. Foggy won that year.”
Jimmy Bullard has returned to the jungle(Image: Getty)
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A third commented: “He was out first that year, because I remember being outraged by it.” While another pointed out: “Someone doesn’t know the history of I’m A Celebrity, he didn’t win, he was on the show [the] year Carl Fogarty won it.”
In response to the criticism, the ITV account made a joke of the blunder, writing: “Turns out our memory’s got a bit foggy over the last 12 years”, reports the Express.
The caption on the post was subsequently amended to read: “Jimmy Bullard is back to tackle his way to the top for the Jungle Legend crown.”
Jimmy was among the early frontrunners in 2014, yet he became the first contestant to be eliminated as public opinion appeared to turn following a heated exchange with X Factor star Jake Quickenden, during which the footballer questioned why the singer was famous.
Numerous viewers branded Jimmy a bully after he confronted Jake with: “Why the f**k are you in here? What are you? What sort of skill have you got?”
Reflecting on the incident recently with the Express, Jake said: “It was mad. I absolutely love Jimmy, and he was my best mate in there. All we did all day was take the p**s out of each other.
“I think it actually started because I said that he was built like Mr Burns from The Simpsons so then he started giving me loads of s**t, but obviously in the edit, they didn’t really show me saying anything back.”