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It\u2019s somewhat impressive to spend 30 years presenting without getting caught up in any live TV showdowns. But Ant and Dec<\/a>\u2019s drought of true drama came to an end last week thanks to the monumentally chaotic I\u2019m a Celebrity: South Africa<\/em> live final.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no denying this Geordie double act are national treasures with many strings to their bow. Love or hate them, they know how to deliver a live set piece, having performed adrenaline-inducing challenges including axe throwing, high-speed electric bike racing, and even jumping through a ring of fire on motorcycles,\u00a0on their cosy variety show Saturday Night Takeaway<\/em><\/a>. They\u2019ve crowned millionaires on game shows and risked rubbing famous people up the wrong way with elaborate pranks. Their brand of live television mastery \u2013 which saw them win the National Television Awards\u2019s presenting prize for 23 years running \u2013\u00a0is admirable, but falls very much in the sphere of structured entertainment. Enter stage left, Jimmy Bullard<\/a> and David Haye<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last week, the finale of an all-stars I\u2019m a Celeb<\/em> brought back all the contestants, eight months after what was easily the most explosive show in its history. The furore stemmed from one episode of the series, recorded in September 2025, in which former footballer Bullard quit a task despite knowing it would send him and soap star Adam Thomas<\/a>, who he was paired with, crashing out of the competition. Thomas was not happy, angrily confronting Bullard \u2013 and in \u201cunbroadcastable\u201d scenes, Thomas hurled the c-word at him.<\/p>\n Ant and Dec intervene in blazing row on \u2018I’m A Celebrity: South Africa\u2019 final (ITV)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n The final presented an unprecedented situation for the presenters. It was known that a showdown with Thomas was on the cards, after tensions had been left to simmer for months, and sure enough, it all kicked off: Ant and Dec found themselves interrupted by Bullard, who accused the show of editing the argument to make him look bad. Haye, who Thomas has since accused of being \u201cmanipulative\u201d in camp, repeatedly chimed in for good measure. The usually relaxed presenting duo struggled to contain the chaos. \u201cYou weren\u2019t there!\u201d they bellowed at Haye and, in an extremely rare move, threw impartiality out the window when Bullard asked them outright if they thought Thomas\u2019s behaviour had been intimidating. \u201cI didn\u2019t think it was,\u201d Ant said. \u201cAnd I was there.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a response to an ever-evolving saga that\u2019s captured the attention of those who haven\u2019t watched I\u2019m a Celebrity<\/em> for years \u2013 and has continued to accelerate days after Thomas became the most defeated winner the show has ever crowned. The involved parties are still calling each other out \u2013 and Ant and Dec themselves had to play down embellished reports of a showdown they had with Bullard and Haye in the car park of the studio where the finale was filmed.<\/p>\n The fact remains that the finale was an uncharacteristically hostile viewing experience for I\u2019m a Celeb<\/em> fans \u2013 but also oddly thrilling to see Ant and Dec battling egos in a way they\u2019ve never had to before. Since debuting in 2004, the series has prided itself on being a reality show devoid of drama; the feel-good antidote to social experiment Big Brother<\/em>. If you wanted to see people tearing strips off one another, I\u2019m a Celeb <\/em>has never been the show for you.<\/p>\n Personal struggles aside, Ant and Dec have had an easy ride of it for too long, appearing to actively avoid controversy. This puts them on a different trajectory to another host who has been working relentlessly since the 1990s: Davina McCall<\/a>. In 2020, McCall told The Independent<\/em><\/a>: \u201cI\u2019ve always been attracted to trying to do something a bit different. I\u2019ve always embraced shows that some people would be disgusted by. The number of times I\u2019ve said to myself: \u2018This could be a career ender.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n They\u2019ve no doubt been at the heart of contentious situations \u2013 all eyes were on them when Nigel Farage was an I\u2019m a Celebrity <\/em>contestant in 2023. The series was described as \u201creputational rehab\u201d for the former Ukip boss, whose political career seemingly strengthened after his stint in the jungle. But if Ant and Dec weren\u2019t happy with his appearances on the show, they never once showed it. They left the tough conversations to their campmates and instead softly mocked Farage in scripted moments from the comfort of their studio. This is a far cry from McCall, and even her one-time Big Brother<\/em> replacement Emma Willis, who would not be afraid to ask hard questions to divisive housemates. In 2018, in an interview that would make Ant and Dec bristle, Willis grilled former Emmerdale<\/em> star Roxanne Pallett on an incident dubbed \u201cpunchgate\u201d. Pallett had falsely accused Coronation Street<\/em>\u2019s Ryan Thomas \u2013 brother of I\u2019m a Celeb: South Africa <\/em>star Adam \u2013 of physically assaulting her during a play fight.<\/p>\n