Top News

As a fighter, David Haye lost to boxing giants Tony Bellew (twice) and Wladimir Klitschko on points. But surely the former world heavyweight champion's most humiliating defeat was losing to ex-Emmerdale actor Adam Thomas on I'm A Celebrity? Haye's constant jabbing at Salford-born Thomas, very much a lightweight, in the South African spin-off alienated ITV viewers and his own campmates alike. Even though David had a point - Thomas, 37, was indeed "a grown-a**e man" tediously complaining that doing very little on a well-paid TV reality show was "the hardest thing" he'd ever experienced and generally behaving like a needy adolescent.

Referring to Adam dropping his ball on Friday's balancing trail, Haye told him last night, "You didn't have the mental strength not to itch an itch". (Sadly, Adam didn't respond by suggesting Haye lacked the mental breadth to realise the verb he wanted was 'scratch'.) David, 45, called it banter and in his world it was. But to viewers and most of his fellow celebs it felt like verbal bullying.

In the show's latest twist, the contestants took it in turn to save one person until just Haye and Sinitta were left. The result was inevitable. Corrie's Beverley Callard saved Sinitta. X/Twitter erupted with joy. And only Harry Redknapp gave Haye any credit, calling him "a proper geezer...outrageous...a proper warrior".

And in truth the fighter was right to be angry with Thomas. Haye and Craig Charles had endured one of the toughest and muckiest trials to win the camp seven stars only for them to be fined two stars and having to go hungry because Adam had smuggled revolting vegan chocolate contraband back into camp.

Haye was given the power to take someone with him and chose a relieved Gemma Collins whose contributions had been largely to lay about being waited on, making it all about her, and volunteering other people for trials.

Another marmite character gone. So will this mean harmony in the camp until the Friday night finale? Not necessarily. The fashionably sensitive Adam apparently falls out with bantering ex-footballer Jimmy Bullard tonight. Maybe he notices how little Adam has actually done...

Last night's trial saw Scarlett Moffatt nearly drowning in dangerous corn - always the risk you take with Ant & Dec's scriptwriters - while Ashley Roberts scaled a giant vertical snakes & ladders board. Ashley's task required agility, dexterity, impressive squatting and the courage to stick her hands into boxes full of non-venomous snakes who wriggled as impotently as Starmer did in the Commons yesterday.

Scarlett just had to stand in a container, blow on a dice and put up with a few critters falling on her head. Yet to hear her tell it, she'd done the hard work. Will that cost her the crown? Moffatt has to be one of the favourites, but behind Adam (if the sympathy vote carries him through), chef Mo, and Harry (if we hear more of his stories).

I'll waste my vote on Craig who has been funny, agreeable and can-do throughout. This neutered series has suffered from less than thrilling trials that seemed to last forever, like the bungee-jump quiz - people bungee-jump every day - and the ball balancing snooze. There have been no real screamers like Dean Gaffney and Paul Burrell and no real surprises.

It has also been nobbled by the producers taking too much control. It's usual for them to impose a narrative but taking the public vote out of the process has drained half the fun out of watching. You wouldn't be surprised if it was their idea for Sinitta to raise her profile by orchestrating last night's wind-up on Harry. Vote if you want but ITV's winner has already been decided.