Jimmy Bullard was reportedly raging upon discovering a fellow campmate was being paid more to return to I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
The former professional footballer, 47, first entered the Australian jungle in 2014, where he was eliminated first before Carl ‘Foggy’ Fogarty was crowned the winner.
Now, he’s back for a second go, hoping to improve on his previous result in the All Stars edition, I’m A Celebrity South Africa.
He’ll join the likes of Gemma Collins, Scarlett Moffatt, Sir Mo Farah, and Seann Walsh – but there’s one person who he’s apparently not happy with.
It’s been claimed that Jimmy was ‘furious’ to find out 2018 winner Harry Redknapp was receiving a higher fee, as per The Sun.
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‘Jimmy expected to be on the same money as Harry,’ a source said.
‘However, Harry is considered one of the biggest names of the South Africa series,’ they argued.
‘He also loves spending time at home with wife Sandra, and it would have taken a big fee for him to spend time in South Africa without her.’
It’s currently unknown how much Jimmy and footie manager Harry, 79, are being paid for their comebacks.
When they each first appeared in their respective series, though, their salaries were also wildly different.
Jimmy was reportedly paid £100,000 12 years ago, while Harry became one of the highest-paid stars ever with a £500k fee, a sum that Boy George and Caitlyn Jenner are also thought to have received.
Other celebs who have pocketed hefty paycheques in recent years include Noel Edmonds, who got £600k in 2018, before the major jump to £1.5million for Nigel Farage in 2023. Last series, runner-up Coleen Rooney also got the eye-watering amount.
But despite his alleged outrage this time, Jimmy actually said originally that he would have done the show whether he was paid or not.
He stated: ‘I would have come in the jungle for nothing.
‘I would have paid them a little bit of money to get me in there.’
Jimmy and Harry aren’t strangers either, with a history of over two decades.
In 1999, Harry signed Jimmy for £20k to play for West Ham United, moving from Gravesend & Northfleet.
Much like his I’m A Celeb stint, though, he didn’t last long and was let go at the end of the 2000-01 season.
Starting tomorrow night, I’m A Celeb South Africa will crown its second-ever Jungle Legend after Myleene Klass emerged victorious last season.
Also returning this time to face Ant, Dec, and some grim Bushtucker Trials are singer Sinitta, Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts, retired boxer David Haye, DJ and Red Dwarf actor Craig Charles, Coronation Street star Beverley Callard, and Waterloo Road actor Adam Thomas.
Speaking ahead of the premiere, Gogglebox star Scarlett admitted the atmosphere was ‘less harmonious’ in camp compared to her 2016 series, which she won.
Speaking at a media roundtable, the 35-year-old TV personality shared: ‘Because we’ve all done it, I was like, “Oh, this is going to be a doddle!”
‘It was a lot more intense; it was hardcore.’
Scarlett added: ‘It wasn’t as harmonious as the first time I went in, only because I think we were all such big characters.
‘If we’d all just got on the whole time when we’re such big characters, I don’t think anyone would have believed it, but I think it’ll make for good entertainment.’
It has been reported that soap star Adam actually had a heated row with Jimmy during filming, and they are no longer on speaking terms.
Reps for Jimmy Bullard have been contacted for comment.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! South Africa begins tomorrow at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX
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