Madeley: I had a funny turn but now I feel fit as a fiddle
As newly-slim Richard goes home, celebrities batten down hatches
‘Hospital dash broke Covid bubble’
RICHARD Madeley returned home last night after revealing a ‘funny turn’ was behind his dramatic exit from I’m A Celebrity.
The Good Morning Britain host was forced to quit the ITV show on Thursday after a dash to hospital by ambulance.
By leaving the camp at Gwrych Castle in north Wales, he broke the Covid bubble that he and other stars had formed when they entered last weekend.
Despite this, the 65-year-old appeared in high spirits, pictured outside his home yesterday clutching a cup of tea.
The father-of-two, who looked slimmer in the face than before entering the camp, told photographers that the turn could have been down to ‘low blood sugar’.
In his first interview since leaving the programme, Madeley told presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly that he felt ‘fit as a fiddle’. ‘I had to leave… it’s a Covid situation,’ he said. ‘What happened was, I had just a funny little turn quite sort of late in the morning.’
He continued: ‘ITV are so good with duty of care. They were adamant. They said, “No, we have to make sure that you’re OK.”... ‘So I went to the local hospital – I was only in there for about an hour and a half – I was given really thorough checks and I was given a completely clean bill of health, I’m absolutely fine.’
Madeley, who is best known for hosting ITV’s This Morning alongside his wife Judy Finnigan, 73, said: ‘As I say, if it wasn’t for Covid, I’d still be in the game. I’m gutted. I’m gutted, I really am.’
Madeley took part in the first solo trial of the series – Castle Kitchen Nightmares – in Wednesday night’s episode. In the challenge, which was filmed 36 hours before he was taken to hospital, he managed to find only four of the ten hidden stars, which meant four meals for camp.
Madeley’s exit isn’t the only drama to hit the 21st series. Last night’s episode was pre-recorded rather than live due to severe weather forecast over the arrival of Storm Arwen. It is understood there were concerns that the satellite link might be affected by high winds.