Viewers were delighted when Dennis Wise became the sixth campmate voted out of the jungle on last night’s I’m A Celebrity.
But one person who wasn’t so pleased was presenter Declan Donnelly, as it meant he had to face the footballer after mocking him all series for being “a very small man”.
The running joke has been one of this year’s highlights, with Dec constantly going on about how tiny Dennis is at 5ft 5in tall.
He always put on a squeaky voice to say Dennis, 50, is a “very small man,” joking he could sleep in a matchbox or drown in a puddle of water because of his size.
His co-host Ant McPartlin has always been exasperated by the mickey-taking because Dec, 42, isn’t very tall himself.
The pair played on the irony of Dec laughing at Dennis on almost every night of this year’s series, so much so that viewers were upset on one evening when there were no “very small man” jokes.
This evening it came to a head with Dennis’ eviction and Ant said they should use the opportunity of interviewing him to find out exactly who was the smallest of the two.
Before the former Chelsea star could sit down, Ant told him: “Hang on a minute, get over here, we’ve got to do this. We’ve had a long-running debate, somebody in this studio thinks he’s taller than you.”
“I’ve barely said a word!” Dec joked.
The pair then stood back-to-back and Ant measured the difference between their heights with his arm and called the winner.
“I think he’s done it, yes!” he cried as Dennis was shown to be the tallest.
“You’ve made my night,” he told him.
“When you watch the show back, just fast-forward all our bits,” Dec then said perhaps worried that Dennis will take offence at all the mockery.
It’s perhaps why the presenters gave him an easy ride in his exit interview, with viewers criticising them for not grilling him more over his treatment of Iain Lee.
Many felt he had “bullied” the radio host and ganged up on him with his pals Jamie Lomas and Amir Khan.
One tweeted: “Soft #ImACeleb interview for Dennis Wise after he basically humiliated Ian. Glad it’s clear he was ‘doing it all to help Ian get airtime’ though. So selfless. What a guy.”
Another said: “Weak interview by Ant and Dec, Dennis’ bullying has been most talked about issue on the show for days and they just skimmed over it?! #ImACeleb”
A third tweeted: “@imacelebrity @antanddec worst interview ever! Why on earth didn’t you question Dennis’s behaviour towards Iain? Pretty upsetting to watch to be honest #imaceleb #ImACelebrity”
Read more: Furious I’m A Celeb viewers are sick of Iain Lee being bullied
“Poor interview with Dennis by ant and dec, skirted around the issue of the way he’s been treating Iain #ImACelebrity,” said a fourth.
Perhaps Dec didn’t want to push Dennis too hard for answers now he knows he has to look up to him!