After a hugely hyped-up entrance to the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! jungle, the highest paid star was first to leave on Friday night.
And fans are not just upset by Noel Edmonds’ shocking early exit – many of them are accusing producers of fixing it for him to go!
Noel, 69, who was paid a reported £600,000 for what-turned-out-to-be only ten days on the show, was announced to be leaving, to the surprise of his campmates.
The Deal Or No Deal star smirked as presenters Holly Willoughby and Declan Donnelly told him the news, saying: “Am I supposed to look disappointed?”
But those watching at home didn’t take the news so well.
Twitter was flooded with outraged comments, with one writing: “What a fix -I’m a Celeb! Imagine a conversation with producers & Noel Edmonds. ‘PLEASE come on our show, we’ll pay you £600K for10 days work. You go in late, we’ll make sure you’re first to be ‘voted’ off. we’ll pay for you & your wife to stay in a luxury hotel too.’ @imacelebrity.”
Another blasted: “TOTAL FIX…HOW COULD NOEL BE 1ST OUT WITH THE OTHER BORE OFFS…”
Another pointed out how Noel had earned: “60k a day, it’s a fix, the show wasn’t paying that much for Noel to stay in until the end.
A fourth added: “This is a god damn fix if I have ever seen one, this has been all [bleeping] agreed in the first place, only in for a week for the most money, Noel is laughing all the way to the banker #ImACeleb this was his Deal or No Deal for going in the Jungle.”
Many assumed The Vamps star James McVey would be going, with one tweeting: “Upset and outraged over this.. he should have been in top 3 ..hundreds voted for him so how come he got less than James??? Total FIX!!!!! 🤬🤬🤬🤬😢😢😢🥂 #Noel #putNoelbackin #fix #NoelEdmunds #Noelshouldhavewon.”
Another said: “How can he go first??? James has been boring, done nothing! Noel has been by far more entertaining. I smell a fix!!!!”
Some fans even claimed there was something wrong with the voting, writing: “#ImACeleb noel edmonds wasn’t available to vote for on the app… #fix.”
I reckon Noel going out is a fix and part of his contract was to be first out so he didn't have to be in there long #ImACeleb pic.twitter.com/Yo8R38w3hh
— Laura Dee (@miss_lauradee) November 30, 2018
A show source vehemently denied the possibility of a fix, telling ED!: “Noel was voted out by the public, to suggest otherwise is complete nonsense.”
Read more: Noel Edmonds “briefed” by producers to play I’m A Celeb ‘villain’
After leaving the camp, Noel told Holly, 37, and Dec, 43, that it had been “one of my top ten life experiences.”
He was emotional as he told them he was “humbled and proud to have been a part of it.”
It followed his wife, Liz’s revelation that Noel had been “briefed” by producers to stir things up when he entered the camp.
Speaking on ITV’s This Morning from Australia, she said her husband had been “apprehensive” about being dropped into the jungle after the other celebs.
She said: “There’s a naughty side to him in a fun way and I know he would have been briefed that they wanted him to go in and be the emperor, play a part.
“And he would have done that to the best that he could, although I think he feels much happier now in the jungle being a team player.”
Read more: Anne Hegerty has not got I’m A Celebrity game plan
We’re sad to see Noel go. Whether you loved or hated him, there’s no denying he was pure entertainment.
What do you make of Noel’s early exit? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think.