Former TV star Iain Lee has revealed that the stress of being on I’m A Celebrity made his drug addiction return after 13 years.
16:17, 06 Dec 2025Updated 16:17, 06 Dec 2025
Iain Lee has claimed I’m A Celebrity contributed to his drug relapse(Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
A former I’m A Celebrity star has said the stress of the show caused him to relapse after steering clear of drugs for 13 years. Back in 2017, he was a sought-after TV presenters due to his dry wit and perfect comedic timing. And he didn’t fail to entertain while on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, along with his campmates Jamie Lomas, Rebekah Vardy, Georgia Toffolo and Stanley Johnson.
Iain Lee has now claimed the ITV show contributed to his drug relapse after being 13 years sober. The comedian, 52, appeared on the show in 2017 and finished in third place. Iain had already stopped attending Narcotics Anonymous after 11 years and confessed that he had “already set the wheels in motion”, when it came to his addiction.
Iain Lee has claimed I’m A Celebrity contributed to his drug relapse
Iain blamed stress of being on the show coupled with “toxic” campmates, that led to his demise. In a recent interview he explained to the Daily Star: “I went in 13 years clean, but not long after coming out, the stress of the show got to me. I was in there with a bunch of a*******s, not blaming them it’s my fault. I picked up again, it was totally on me.”
And Iain happily spoke about those who he had the most trouble dealing with in camp – naming former boxer Amir Khan, Rebekah Vardy and Dennis Wise. However, the former presenter was quick to take full accountability for his relapse and went on to proudly state that he will be five years sober at the end of this month.
Iain Lee appeared on I’m A Celebrity back in 2017(Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Speaking in September, Iain said he was responsible for the collapse of his once glittering TV career, due to his drug addiction. He revealed to The Guardian: “I’m making peace with my past. I was never very proud of my TV career. I thought it was s**t.
“If anyone was f***ing up my career, it was me. I was taking loads and loads of drugs and becoming incredibly unreliable and obnoxious to work with… an a**hole.”
He added: “So I took cocaine and it gave me this false bravado. It looked like arrogance but it came from absolute terror.”
Iain’s relapse after I’m A Celebrity was sadly not the only time he fell off the wagon. Back in 2020 he marked 30 days sober after relapsing despite two years clean of any drugs.
Writing on X at the time, he told his followers that he was back on the wagon. And on his show The Late Night Alternative, he said: “So here’s the thing, I took drugs. After two and a half years clean, I took drugs. This is awful. It isn’t awful, but I feel awful.”
He continued: “Last weekend, not the weekend just gone, last weekend, I took some drugs. It wasn’t my drug of choice and it didn’t really do a lot, it gave me a terrible headache, it got me a little bit buzzy and it made me puke.”
The Mirror has contacted ITV for a comment.
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