Ant and Dec slammed by angry Chris Packham over grotesque ITV Im A Celebrity
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Chris Packham has written a furious letter to Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly about allegations of animal abuse on I’m A Celebrity saying: "II’ve tried to be polite but my patience has run thin."
The BBC presenter and animal activist, 62, took to X – formerly Twitter – to share his strongly-worded letter to the Geordie duo as he furiously branded ITV ’s I’m A Celebrity “grotesque” and “exploitative” over its use of animals for entertainment. He went on to plead with the channel’s bosses to “listen to the voices of concern [and] read the writing on the wall” as he pointed out the falling viewing figures.
Chris wrote: “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! remains a grotesque blot on the reputations of both yourselves and ITV. Its continued exploitation of animals for entertainment is an anachronistic embarrassment and betrays a dangerous disconnect between a world increasingly concerned with an environmental crisis, and a reckless… part of the media which doesn’t appear to give a s***.”
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Chris said that his letter – which has been viewed over a million times on X – was written in a personal capacity rather than in his role as the president of the RSPCA, but that last year the charity received 17,000 complaints about the show’s treatment of animals.
He added: “Look at the world, listen to the voices of concern, read the writing on the wall. Circuses have gone, dancing bears have gone, cock and dog fighting are the sad preserve of psychopathic criminals. We have no performing dolphins in the UK and no chimpanzees dressed up for tea time. The cruel exploitation of wildlife for gratuitous entertainment on your programme continues to damage the great reputation of the UK as a ‘nation of animal lovers’.”
He then suggested the show needed to be revamped with more focus on the conservation of wildlife. This isn’t the first time that Chris has publicly spoken out against the use of critters in trials. In 2019, he pleaded with Dec to “think how his daughter will perceive his actions”. He went on to claim last year that the ITV show doused the jungle with insecticide to stop bugs biting the star contestants.
He also wrote a letter via Radio Times in 2014 making similar complaints. In response ITV hit back in a lengthy statement defending the show and saying they were doing nothing wrong. A spokesman said: “We are always fully transparent about our protocols and we have a very strict environmental plan in place on the show.
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“As a production, we comply with all regional and national laws concerning the use of insects, animals and reptiles. Welfare and safety is always the primary priority on any of our programmes, and at any Bushtucker trial that features animals, we have qualified and experienced animal handlers on site at all times.
“We inform the RSPCA NSW of all of our activities on the show and they have an open invitation to attend the site at any time. We cannot stress enough that we have rigorous protocols in place to ensure that animals are handled safely at all times, before, during and after any filming has taken place, in compliance with all regional and national laws."
I'm a Celebrity.. Get Me Out of Here! airs on ITV1 and ITVX nightly at 9pm
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- Ant Mcpartlin
- Declan Donnelly
- ITV
- I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here
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