Adam Thomas Recalls I’m A Celebrity ‘Bullying’ After Chaotic Final

I’m A Celebrity winner Adam Thomas had a few things to get off his chest after the show’s chaotic reunion special last week.

On Friday night, Adam was crowned the second ever I’m A Celebrity “Legend” after a turbulent time on the latest all-star series.

During the live final, things took an especially tumultuous turn, with even Ant and Dec weighing in as various members of the group, most notably David Haye and Jimmy Bullard, took issue with the way that certain events had been portrayed.

Speaking to his brothers on the podcast At Home With The Thomas Bros, Adam commented that it “doesn’t feel like I won” the series because of how things played out during the live final.

He claimed: “I feel like I’m getting blamed [for how other people came across on the show]. And I had no control over the edit, how [ITV was] going to show me, how they were going to show other campmates. And yeah, I still feel like I’m being accused of that.

“And the heartbreaking thing for me is that everyone is trying to defend themselves, but by doing so, they’re blaming me for their actions. And that’s the worst bit for me.”

“They’re throwing me under the bus, and that just breaks my heart, man,” he continued. “Because throughout all of this, from when I was in there, to when I came out, to now, I am not blaming anyone. I’m not pointing the finger at anyone else going, ‘you shouldn’t have done this, you should have done that’.

“I take full responsibility for my actions and everything that I did in there – even between me and David.”

Pausing to gather himself, the Emmerdale star said: “I take full responsibility, because I feel like… it was my fault I let that happen to me, because I should have spoken up sooner. And if I did that, maybe this would have all been put to bed a lot sooner, and we could have just moved on. But I didn’t.

“And then, you know, the whole Jimmy situation. I’m not blaming Jimmy, I’m blaming myself for the way that I acted. Yes, I acted [that way] because of everything that had happened with David, leading up to that moment with Jimmy.

“I should have had control of myself. I should have realised. But emotions got the better of me. And yes, I hold my hands up, I lost my shit and I said the C-word a couple of times. And I can only apologise for that, and I have done on numerous occasions to Jimmy.”

He went on to affirm that he was the victim of “bullying” in the camp, despite his comments a week earlier casting doubt on those describing his campmates’ behaviour as such.

“I feel like there’s a fine line between banter and bullying, right?” he stated. “And I just want to be clear, we spoke about it in the last podcast where I was a little bit apprehensive and a little bit diplomatic about whether it was bullying. I didn’t want to point the finger or call anyone a bully, right? But I’ll just be outright and say it how it is now.

“What happened to me in camp is bullying. That is the matter of fact about it, it was bullying. And I don’t think it’s fair for people who are going through what I went through, in the real world, to pass it off as banter, because it’s not.”

Adam shared: “The reason… why I didn’t speak up for myself when I should have done is because when I was in camp, everyone was passing it off as banter, as just ‘[David is] doing it because he loves you’. And so, you know, I laughed it off, and pretended it was alright.

“So, I can see it from the other campmates’ perspective, from their lens, why it may seem like it was banter and not bullying. I understand it. But I’m telling you my truth, and how I felt in there, and I’m telling you now, it was bullying.

“I’ll also tell you that I spoke to David when I got out, and I asked him, ‘why did you keep doing it to me?’, and he told me, ‘I’ve never met a nicer guy I just wanted to break you’. Now if that isn’t classed as bullying, I don’t know what is.

“So, I just want to be clear to anyone out there who is being bullied, I don’t care what anyone says, if you know how you feel, and that is happening to you, then speak up, no matter what anyone else says, because if you don’t, it’ll just carry on and carry on.”

Adam went on to claim that a turning point for him came when he fainted after a Bushtucker Trial, and as he regained consciousness, heard David “goading” him and “calling me a pussy”, which he said then descended into “personal digs” that “crossed a line”.

Reflecting on the live final, Adam then opined of his former co-stars: “I feel like it’s just a show to them. It’s entertainment. It’s fun. And for me, it’s not about entertainment, I’m not playing a character, I’m not here for anyone else’s agenda but my own, just to have a fucking laugh and enjoy this experience.

“And I feel like that’s the most disturbing bit for me, even after the show, and everything that he did, [David] sent me a voice note that was like ‘oh mate, what a great show that was, I’m so happy you won, congratulations’. And I just sent him a message back just saying, ‘listen, I think this is where I draw the line now and I hope you find happiness, bro, but I’m done now’.”

“That live show, I felt like I’d just been exploited,” he added. “And I think you can see it at the end of it, I felt like I was just in the midst of it all, and it wasn’t even about me.”

On Wednesday, David also shared a video questioning his Instagram followers about whether they felt his behaviour constituted bullying.

“I’m still kind of confused about the last couple of weeks,” the former heavyweight champion explained. “Do let me know whether, off the strength of watching I’m A Celebrity 2026 ‘legends’ edition, you think I’m a bully.

“Would you consider yes I’m a bully? Or no, it was all banter and it was all good? Very interested to know the numbers because I’ve asked a few questions and from the responses I got, it seemed like I was in a massive minority thinking that my behaviour was correct.”

After watching Adam’s podcast interview, David then shared another video on social media, accusing the actor of playing “the victim” and branding him “soft” and “weak”.

HuffPost UK has contacted ITV and David Haye’s team for additional comment.

In the lead-up to the I’m A Celebrity final, Adam shared that he feels so “changed” by his time in South Africa that he has been undergoing therapy.

Since Friday’s final – where the soap actor received more than half of the overall votes cast to win – ITV has also dismissed the suggestion that “favouritism” was shown to Adam during his time in camp.