Iain Lee says he was ‘ostracised and intimidated’ on I’m A Celeb but insists he WASN’T bullied
IAIN Lee has denied he was bullied on I’m A Celeb but has said he was “ostracised and intimidated” by his campmates.
The treatment of the presenter by Dennis Wise, Rebekah Vardy, Amir Khan and Jamie Lomas had viewers reeling and making hundreds of complaints to Ofcom – however Iain, 42, has told The Telegraph that he was not the victim of bullying.
He said: “Bullying is a big word, and I was categorically not bullied in the jungle.
“Having said that, I was ostracised, made to feel horrendously awkward and intimidated.”
During time in the jungle, the comedian who suffers with mental health issues was accused of “game playing” by his campmates who talked about him behind his back and banned from doing a Bushtucker Trial.
However Iain excuses this as everyone being “hangry” and refuses to say it’s anything like a child suffering school bullying or someone being treated badly at work.
He explains: “Look, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! is surreal to begin with.
“Emotions are heightened, everyone’s “hangry”, which is to say “hungry and angry” and the pressure is immense.
“But I got paid, I went there voluntarily, there’s no way I would compare my experience to some poor kid getting it in the neck every day or somebody getting shouted at by their boss.”
He added: “I thought the worst part would be the standard stuff like being showered with spiders; that was a breeze compared to hanging out with the other people.
“I found it really hard and there were moments when I felt desolate, but I chose to do it and although I wanted to leave on two occasions, I talked things through with the show psychiatrist and stayed.”
Before entering the jungle Iain and his wife agreed that his two young sons would not watch their dad in the jungle, unless he was taking part in a Bushtucker Trial, which is something he is thankful for.
“I’m glad they didn’t see the rest of the soap opera going on,” he told The Telegraph.
And while he is insistent that he wasn’t bullied, Iain does wish that he had defended himself more.
He said: “Looking back I wish I had stood up for myself more.
“There were times when I wished I had stood up for myself a bit more, but I’m 6’5 and if I’d started shouting it would have made things a lot worse and I would have been even more isolated.”
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