GEMMA COLLINS brought her trademark drama to the I’m A Celebrity: All Stars launch – after she accused campmate Sinitta of betraying her, it is claimed.
Insiders say The GC pulled an astonishing Wagatha Christie-style move when she blamed the singer for leaking stories about her to the Press.
Echoing the allegation Coleen Rooney made against Rebekah Vardy in 2019, Gemma dropped her own incendiary bomb into an All Stars contestants’ WhatsApp group, insisting that one of her co-stars was feeding info to the media.
And Eighties pop star Sinitta — who is famed for her Top Five tune So Macho — felt the brunt of Gemma’s wrath.
“All Stars hasn’t even aired yet, but it’s all been kicking off,” one insider explained. “Gemma is at the centre of this astonishing new spat.
“A few weeks back, out of nowhere, she dropped a message into the group WhatsApp chat accusing someone of leaking stories about her to the Press. And before anyone could even tap out a reply, she accused Sinitta of being the rat.
“It was like Wagatha Christie all over again. No one in the group could believe what they were reading. No one replied. Basically, it put a massive cloud over what had been a rather jolly group.
“Some of the celebs in the chat rallied to Sinitta because they felt it was unnecessary to make such an accusation in a group setting.
Make amends
“Poor Sinitta was dumbfounded and incredibly upset at such a scurrilous accusation being made against her — with zero proof.”
The hugely popular All Stars jungle spin-off returns to our screens on April 6, featuring former contestants Gemma and Sinitta, plus show alumni Harry Redknapp, Sir Mo Farah, Scarlett Moffatt, Adam Thomas, David Haye, Seann Walsh, Ashley Roberts, Craig Charles, Beverley Callard and Jimmy Bullard.
They were all packed off to the South African wilderness last autumn to film their bid for a second chance at glory.
But tensions simmering in the background of the show have threatened to blow their antics in the bush out of the water.
Gemma’s row with Sinitta has unfolded in the past fortnight.
And according to insiders, the show launch at the five-star Ham Yard hotel in London earlier this month was the first time 2011 jungle contestant Sinitta and former Towie star Gemma — who quit the main show after three days in 2014 — came face to face since the spat erupted.
An eyewitness, who was among the campmates milling in a separate room, said Sinitta desperately tried to make amends with Gemma during the event.
Poor old Sinitta was dumbfounded and incredibly upset at such a scurrilous accusation being
made against her
with zero proof.
They explained: “Sinitta made a beeline for Gemma in bid to try and put this to bed. She had been beside herself with worry and the other celebs were clearly aware there was this unspoken tension.
“But Gemma then shocked everyone by being very nice to her face and brushing it all off.
“It left a bad taste in a lot of famous mouths because Gemma had caused all this tension, then just made out like it was nothing.
“Sinitta was obviously pleased it had been put to bed.
“But it’s caused ripples amongst the cast, who are now scared they could be accused next.”
Sources reckon it is too soon to be sure the drama is over, as all 12 campmates from this series of All Stars have yet to meet again at the live final on April 24.
This new twist was thought up by ITV bigwigs so that fans can still control who they want to be crowned I’m A Celebrity’s “Ultimate Champion”, despite most of the series being pre-recorded.
However, there is a question mark over whether contestants Adam Thomas and Jimmy Bullard will reunite for the grand finale.
Last November, The Sun revealed soap actor Adam and former footballer Jimmy had a monumental clash while filming in the South African bush.
Out of nowhere, Gemma dropped
a message into the group WhatsApp chat accusing Sinitta
of being the rat. It
was like Wagatha Christie again.
Tempers flared as the pair took part in a tough Bushtucker Trial, with Adam accused of rounding on Jimmy during the difficult task.
Recalling the incident, which was witnessed by the crew plus hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, an on-set source said: “Adam totally lost it during a trial. He started screaming at Jimmy, calling him a c*** and every other name under the sun.”
He started screaming at Jimmy, calling him a c**t and every other name under the sun.”
It is understood that Adam was incensed after the high-stakes trial came to an end when someone shouted: “I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here,” a phrase that immediately ends the challenge.
A source added: “Adam is intensely competitive and was taking his jungle return very seriously.
“He was frustrated by what happened in the Bushtucker Trial and lost his temper.”
Despite the best attempts to make amends, tensions between Adam and Jimmy remain.
Once the cast had flown back to London after filming, producers tried in vain to stage an intervention and encourage the pair to talk.
Jimmy did not attend the series launch party, citing prior engagements, but insiders revealed it is also uncertain whether he will be at the live final on April 24 or not.
‘Up the ante’
A source said: “ITV bosses created the concept of a live final so viewers could vote for who they wanted to win after watching the series.
“It’s a really cool new twist as, like with the normal I’m A Celebrity series, it puts fans in control of who is crowned the winner.
“Naturally, they’d love to have all the campmates there, but with the bad blood between Jimmy and Adam not subsiding, it’s looking unlikely this could happen.
“They couldn’t mend their friendship in South Africa, or in the weeks that followed their return to the UK.
“Now, so much time has passed, it’s highly unlikely they’ll be putting it to bed by the time the live final rolls around.”
Waterloo Road actor Adam — who lost out on the jungle crown in 2016 when his original series was won by Scarlett — hinted at tensions when speaking at last week’s launch.
He said on stage: “It was completely different compared to the last series that I did. It was so much tougher. Although I did quite a lot of trials in the first series, these were so much bigger and harder than ever before.
“So it was tough, there’s no denying that. And I feel like I had my mo- ments in there, like we all did. But I’m glad that I did it.”
TV insiders say that ITV bosses hope the action on screen can match the scenes off it.
A three-minute ad showing some of the series highlights will be aired on Monday, March 30, between Emmerdale and Coronation Street.
It means fans will see shocking moments before the whole run lands, including Gemma falling from her hammock.
Incredible moments
The first series of All Stars — which was won by Myleene Klass in 2023 — proved to be a ratings hit, becoming one of ITV’s most successful entertainment shows of that year, averaging over 5.1million people watching live every week night.
A source added: “The new series is packed with incredible moments which will have viewers screaming at the telly. The Bushtucker Trials are harder because the celebs know what to expect, so they up the ante.
“It’s made for some amazing television and they can’t wait for fans to see it.”
Veteran hosts Ant and Dec both hinted at the explosive action to come between the stars — and admitted they thought the series would fly. Ant said last week: “It is one of the best series of I’m A Celebrity we have ever done. It’s got drama, it’s got arguments, it’s got laughs.
“It’s up and down and you will witness arguments and things that we haven’t seen on the Australian show for a while.”
Dec added: “We have had a few ‘nice’ series where everyone has really got along well and it was one big happy family. Well, not any more.”
