Jimmy Bullard is adamant he was being "tongue in cheek" when he ridiculed Jake Quickenden on ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’.
The retired footballer became the first star to be evicted from the jungle reality show in scenes shown last night (02.12.14) in a shock voting result.
It is thought Jimmy’s popularity with the public nosedived after he called former ‘X Factor’ star Jake a "lanky piece of s**t" and questioned his celebrity credentials during a heated camp conversation.
The 36-year-old sportsman appreciates it looked bad on TV but insists it was all just "banter" and he’s sure his "great friend" Jake will set the record straight when he comes out of the jungle.
During an interview on ‘Good Morning Britain’, he said: "It was totally tongue in cheek, the way that came across on TV was totally not how it was in camp but saying that, I can be a bit of a nightmare and the best one to ask is Jake about this … We’re great friends, we are going to be for a long time, it’s total banter … He gave as good as he took as well!"
Jimmy insists he loved every minute of his time in the jungle and is pleased he became close friends with Jake and Carl Fogarty – who broke down in tears when his pal left.
Jimmy said: "What an experience, I’m so glad I came and did this. It was mad, a great bunch I was in camp with, that’s what you wish for when you go in … I loved everything about it."
Speaking about Carl’s reaction to his eviction, Jimmy added: "I nearly went myself, when he went and broke down and I was like, ‘Fog don’t do this to me on TV!’ I just totally went … He’s a great friend, I think I’ve got two friends there for life definitely and even the other seven, I was very close to them all and I couldn’t have wished for a better bunch."
Jimmy Bullard: Me and Jake are friends
