K E Y P O I N T S
- Harry Redknapp has been crowned King Of The Jungle in the ‘I’m A Celebrity’ final
- The football manager beat Emily Atack and John Barrowman in Sunday’s live final, who finished in second and third place respectively
- The last episode saw the final three take on a series of Bushtucker Trials - one of which served up some hilarious reactions from host Holly Willoughby
- It was announced 11 million votes were cast from viewers during the final
- Harry is the 18th star to win the ITV reality series
- The episode ended with Dec Donnelly thanking Holly for standing in for regular co-host Ant McPartlin
S N A P V E R D I C T
From the moment Harry Redknapp casually recalled accidentally running over his beloved wife Sandra to his new campmates, the football boss had this year’s series of ‘I’m A Celebrity’ all wrapped up.
Viewers have fallen for the loveable 71-year-old, who has entertained us (and his fellow jungle stars) with his wry humour, one-liners and showbiz stories.
And if anyone doubted the outcome, his teary reunion with Sandra earlier this week cemented his jungle destiny. True love indeed - just don’t let him near a car again.
So it was no surprise then that Sunday’s final saw him crowned the much-deserved King Of The Jungle, beating Emily Atack and John Barrowman to the title.
Harry’s win also topped off what has been a vintage year for the ITV reality series.
While many feared if the show could go on without regular co-host Ant McPartlin, who is currently on an extended break from showbiz, Declan Donnelly found the perfect stand-in in Holly Willoughby.
While she may have gotten off to a shaky start, the ‘This Morning’ presenter proved why ITV bosses were willing to break the bank to secure her services for the show, forming a brilliant on-screen partnership with Dec. But perhaps more comedic than their double act were her reactions to the Bushtucker Trials, which at times have been more entertaining to watch than the actual trials themselves.
The series was also brilliantly cast, featuring a range of famous faces from different backgrounds, and with no seasoned reality stars in sight. And how lovely it was to just watch them all get on, proving we don’t need there to be conflict to keep us entertained,
As a result, the series has gone on to become ITV’s biggest-ever, which is no mean feat for a reality show that is in its 18th series. It’s perhaps even more impressive when you also consider the public have clearly grown tired of similiar shows like ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ and ‘The X Factor’.
It might be goodbye to the jungle for now, but already we’re counting the days until another bunch of celebs are getting covered in cockroaches and chowing down on kangaroo balls.
M O M E N T O F T H E S E R I E S
This series of ‘I’m A Celebrity’ delivered a number of nuggets of TV gold, but we’re going to have to give this accolade to an outburst from Harry during a Bushtucker Trial. Answers on a postcard if you can tell us what he’s saying, as we’re still stumped (and laughing).