Amir Khan’s agent contacted ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ this morning (21.11.17) to tell bosses he’s "really scared" of snakes following his trial last night.
The 30-year-old professional boxer hit the headlines today after a photograph emerged of him with a snake wrapped around his neck at a past event but, despite looking calm and collected in the shot, he surprised viewers with his screams during the first challenge as he screeched at producers to get him out after he picked up a slithery reptile while hunting for a key – sparking rumours he’s lied about his fears.
But his management team contacted organisers of the creepy-crawly series to confirm that the sportsman genuinely has a fear of snakes and his reaction was real.
Speaking on ‘This Morning’ on Tuesday (21.11.17), Alison Hammond said: "His agent actually contacted the show and said he’s really scared of snakes."
She added while discussing the photo: "As soon as you don’t want it there, you can just say get it off me. When you’re in there with a snakes, it’s actually quite scary."
Following claims he faked his fear, Georgie Leahy – the woman who owns the albino Burmese python Slinky in the picture – said she remembers Amir being scared.
She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I remember him being a bit scared of Slinky, and one of the guys was like, no, do it, you’ve got to get a picture.
"I do remember he was scared – he doesn’t look it in the picture. You can tell Slinky really likes him because he’s got his tongue out.
"Slinky was really excited to meet him. Most of the time because Slinky loves me so much he’d come back to me, but in this picture he’s going right for Amir!"
Although he didn’t manage to take back any meals for camp last night, Amir has the chance to rectify the situation today with the new task Flushed Out.
‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ returns to ITV tonight at 9pm.
Amir Khan’s agent contacts I’m A Celeb bosses over snake fear
