I’m A Celeb’s Noel Edmonds set to clash with Declan Donnelly over ‘plundering Noel’s House Party ideas for Saturday Night Takeaway’
I'M A Celebrity star Noel Edmonds has accused Declan Donnelly and his co-host Ant McPartlin of ripping him off for years - so things are set to be awkward when they come face-to-face in the jungle.
The 69-year-old, who was the king of Saturday nights throughout the 1990s with ratings juggernaut Noel's House Party, rarely misses a chance to complain that Ant and Dec stole all his ideas.
Noel has insisted Saturday Night Takeaway's Grab The Ads copies his feature Grab A Grand, that their Undercover segment mirrors his Gotchas and that the idea of surprising viewers with hidden cameras was his idea too.
Speaking to Celebrity Radio in 2015, Noel said: "They plundered the House Party archives and created Takeaway."
He had earlier told : "They've been very honest about the derivation of their show.
"Their executive producer told me that the first thing they did when they were setting up the show was to get out the tapes of Noel's House Party."
However, he added: "We had a laugh about it. I also like the fact that Ant and Dec so clearly love their job and do it so professionally."
When he had a brief cameo on Takeaway, he returned to his theme, joking: "I’ve been in this business 50 years. On Saturday nights I used to get 17 million viewers, and I’ve never been on the honours list.
"And then one day I come home and I turn the telly on and see you two muppets getting OBEs – simply because you copied Noel’s House Party."
He went on: "You do Grab the Ads, I do Grab a Grand. You do Undercover, I had the Gotchas. And don't you remember NTV?"
However, there won't be a Saturday Night Takeaway until 2020, with the show being scrapped for next year in order for Ant to continue his rehab treatment.
Ant and Dec exclusively revealed to The Sun that they wanted to avoid compromising the quality of the show while Ant deals with his addiction issues.
Noel yesterday secured the biggest ever I'm A Celeb payday after bagging a massive £600,000 fee.
The Deal or No Deal host is being paid around £100,000 more than the second highest earner, 71-year-old football manager Harry Redknapp.
Got a story? email digishowbiz@the-sun.co.uk or call us direct on 02077824220.
We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.