Ian Wright has admitted that he would take back his time on I’m A Celebrity last year given the opportunity, claiming he feels “let down” by producers over how he was portrayed.
The former footballer was among the campmates on last year’s series of I’m A Celebrity, finishing in eighth place overall.
However, in a new interview with Red magazine, Ian revealed that he was unhappy with how he came across during his time on the show, claiming viewers were not given an opportunity to see “the whole picture”.
“To be totally honest, if I could take that time back I would,” he explained. “They let me down by not showing the whole picture of who I am. We had so many brilliant in-depth conversations that were never shown.”
Ian continued: “People sometimes see this persona of me where I don’t seem like I’m vulnerable but I’ve always been a person in touch with my emotions. I’m never far away from feeling like I could cry.
“I have very deep feelings that I’ve had to learn to deal with, but I still have my moments. I’m still working in a field where people are looking for mistakes to end you. I’m lucky I have a good circle of people around to look out for me and I’ve got my missus.”
HuffPost UK has contacted ITV for comment.
During his time on I’m A Celebrity, Ian made headlines after rowing with fellow contestant Andrew Maxwell, leading some viewers to suggest the former England star was “bullying” the comedian.
Speaking after his elimination, Ian told Ant and Dec: “I feel it is time [to leave]. I got to the [point]... it is becoming more and more difficult to be positive and there are people around you that need to be positive.
“Towards the end, especially young people, I wasn’t positive enough in the end. I feel like my time has come and it has been unbelievable, I swear to god.”
He added: “The challenge I got [in the jungle], wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought it would be the [trials], but it was more a mental [challenge], I found the mental side of me, I have a lot of work to do on it, I learned a lot about myself being in there.”
Ian’s series was eventually won by former EastEnders star Jacqueline Jossa, with Andy Whyment and Roman Kemp also making the final.