I’m A Celebrity rocked by tense feud as Holly Willoughby can’t stand ‘chippy’ Noel Edmonds since row over ‘negative energy’

"And it’s no secret at all that she was shocked when he was signed for I’m a Celebrity.

“She has been very professional on the show but if you know her, you can see that she does not like him.

"She finds him patronising and feels uncomfortable around him.”

Holly was announced as the co-host of I’m a Celeb at the end of August, while Noel’s inclusion was not revealed until November 21 — just before he entered the camp.

His £600,000 fee makes him the highest paid contestant yet.

But three days later, on November 24, he clashed with Holly as he tackled a bug-eating trial alongside footie legend Harry Redknapp, 71.

Holly tried to encourage Noel, 69, by telling him: “Clear your mind.”

But Noel snapped: “Clear your mind? How dare you!”

Moments later she asked him: “What did that feel like in your mouth?”

He replied: “What do you think?”

The next day, Noel was seen competing in the Catch a Falling star trial with DIY expert Nick Knowles, 56.

Holly used the word “we” to talk about the task, which appeared to annoy Noel, who was suspended on high wires in a bug-filled box.

He said: “I like the use of the word ‘we’, Holly.

"I don’t think you’re up here with us!”

The frostiness continued until the end of Noel’s stint on the show, when he was voted out by viewers on ­Friday.

As he left, he gave Holly’s co-host Declan Donnelly a warm, lingering hug while greeting her only briefly.

And just hours earlier, Holly had appeared to forcefully respond to him during his final trial.

Noel had spilt most of the vile concoctions he was meant to swallow down his front and was disqualified in the drinking-challenge task.

He said to Holly and Dec: “You have just branded me a serial cheat.”

But Holly fired back: “You might have done that yourself.”

As the scenes aired, one viewer tweeted: “Holly doesn’t like Noel.”

Another said: “Holly is so over Noel.”

The show source said: “It’s no secret she didn’t seem to like him and he didn’t seem to like her.

"There’s no suggestion either of them was unprofessional — they just don’t get on.”

Their “bad blood” began in 2016 after Noel asked a cancer sufferer on Twitter if his disease could have been caused by “negative energy”.

The next day Holly and her This Morning co-host Phillip Schofield quizzed him about his shocking views.

Holly, who is a prominent supporter of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, asked him: “Would you ask that to a child who has cancer, if it’s about negative energy?”

Noel, who has beaten prostate cancer, snapped back: “I think you are missing the point here.”

He later described Holly and Phil as “aggressive, disrespectful and dishonest”.

Yesterday our source said: “Holly is an incredibly compassionate and loving person and that’s partly why she was — and is — so upset with the message Noel was putting out, which seemed callous.”

Last night a source close to Holly said: “She does respect Noel and that’s why they had a hug when he came out.

"There was a clash but she has tried to move on.”

A spokesman for Noel said: “Yes, there was that incident on This Morning but Noel has a huge amount of respect for Holly and thinks she’s a great broadcaster and is doing a great job.”

Noel played up to his camp emperor role as he returned to the Versace Hotel after his early jungle exit.

When he met friends and family, he raised his arm in the air.

Afterwards he saw the show shrink before showering.

He then had a 3½-hour lunch in a nearby hotel with wife Liz and her son.

But the insider said: “He feels crushed and humiliated at being first out.