Andy Whyment blasts ‘disrespectful’ Dean McCullough for speaking to Alan Halsall ‘like a child’ in I’m A Celeb ‘feud’
CORONATION Street favourite Andy Whyment has backed his soap co-star Alan Halsall during his I’m A Celebrity stint – and called out his campmate as “disrespectful” during the pair’s recent row.
Andy, who plays Kirk Sutherland in the ITV soap, finished as a jungle runner-up Down Under back in 2019.
The Manchester-based actor, 43 – all too familiar with the trials and tribulations of the Aussie outback – gushed over “great man” Alan after he locked horns with BBC Radio 1 DJ Dean McCullough, 32.
The misunderstanding centred on Alan, 42, who plays Coronation Street‘s Tyrone Dobbs, waking up Dean to ask him to help with a task.
Alan – who was camp leader at the time – needed Dean to help Jane Moore with the firewood, unable to do it himself due to the rules laid out by the show, which also prevented Jane from going alone.
However, Dean wasn’t impressed at being woken up, and appeared disorientated before Alan gently said: “You don’t fancy it? No?”
While Dean did eventually rise and go and help Jane, he found Alan already making a start to help her.
Alan explained he was trying to wake Dean up as softly as he could, Dean abruptly told him:“Listen to me. If you’re gonna wake me up, you need to give me a minute, alright?
“It takes a couple of minutes for my contact lenses to get back working again, alright, so you don’t need to turn around to me and say ‘do you not fancy it?’ ok? And then turn around and walk away.”
Andy – a long time pal of Alan – praised his “fantastic” attitude to the spat on ITV daytime show Lorraine on Monday.
He spoke directly from Corrie’s Rovers Return set and said to anchor Lorraine Kelly: “It was the fact that when Alan was on the floor Dean’s basically on top of him, hand on his shoulder, pointing in his face saying ‘no you listen to me.’
“The reason that got me is when he was in the Bush Telegraph and said ‘I was asleep with wee Tyrone from Coronation Street standing over me.
“I just thought that was a bit disrespectful – I mean Alan’s a 42-year-old man – the way Dean was speaking to him was like he was speaking to him like a child.
“I just thought it was a bit disrespectful.
“On the other hand it gave Alan the chance to show what a really great man he is, so I’m really glad everyone saw that.”
In camp, after the mishap played out, Dean blamed the moment on his contact lenses needing a second to adjust but never apologised for popping off at Alan.
I'm A Celebrity 2024
i'm A Celebrity is back for its 24th series, with a batch of famous faces living in the Aussie jungle. The Sun's Jake Penkethman takes a look at the stars on the show this year..
Coleen Rooney – Arguably the most famous name in the camp, the leading WAG, known for her marriage to Wayne Rooney, has made a grand return to TV as she looks to put the Wagatha Christie scandal behind her. The Sun revealed the mum-of-four had bagged an eye-watering deal worth over £1.5million to be on the show this year making her the highest-paid contestant ever.
Tulisa – The popstar and former X Factor judge has made her triumphant TV comeback by signing up to this year’s I’m A Celeb after shunning TV shows for many years. Known for being a member of the trio, N-Dubz, Tulisa became a household name back in 2011 when she signed on to replace Cheryl on ITV show The X Factor in a multi-million pound deal.
Alan Halsall – The actor, known for playing the long-running role of Tyrone Dobbs on ITV soap opera Coronation Street, was originally signed up to head Down Under last year but an operation threw his scheduled appearance off-course. Now he has become the latest Corrie star to win over both the viewers and his fellow celebrities.
Melvin Odoom – The Radio DJ has become a regular face on TV screens after rising to fame with presenting roles on Kiss FM, BBC Radio 1 and 4Music. Melvin has already been for a spin on the Strictly dancefloor and co-hosted The Xtra Factor with Rochelle Humes in 2015 but now he is facing up to his biggest challenge yet – the Aussie jungle.
GK Barry – The UK’s biggest social media personality, GK, whose real name is Grace Keeling, has transformed her TikTok stardom into a lucrative career. Aside from her popular social media channels, she hosts the weekly podcast, Saving Grace, and regularly appears on ITV talk show, Loose Women. She has even gone on to endorse popular brands such as PrettyLittleThing, KFC and Ann Summers.
Dean McCullough – A rising star amongst this year’s bunch of celebs, Dean first achieved notability through his radio appearances on Gaydio and BBC Radio 1. He was chosen to join the BBC station permanently in 2021 and has featured prominently ever since. He has enjoyed a crossover to ITV over the past year thanks to his guest slots on Big Brother spin-off show, Late & Live.
Oti Mabuse – The pro dancer has signed up to her latest TV show after making her way through the biggest programmes on the box. She originally found fame on Strictly Come Dancing but has since branched out into the world of TV judging with appearances on former BBC show The Greatest Dancer as well as her current role on ITV’s Dancing On Ice.
Danny Jones – The McFly star was drafted into the programme last minute as a replacement for Tommy Fury. Danny is the second member of McFly to enter the jungle, after Dougie Poynter won the show in 2011. He is also considered a rising star on ITV as he’s now one of the mentors on their Saturday night talent show, The Voice, along with bandmate Tom Fletcher.
Jane Moore – The Loose Women star and The Sun columnist is braving the creepy crawlies this year. The star is ready for a new challenge – having recently split from her husband. It will be Jane’s first foray into reality TV with the telly favourite having always said no to reality shows in the past.
Barry McGuigan – Former pro boxer Barry is the latest fighting champ to head Down Under following in the footsteps of Tony Bellew and Amir Khan. It comes after a tough few years for Irish star Barry, who lost his daughter Danika to bowel cancer. He told The Late Late Show in 2021: “She was such an intrinsic part of the family that every day we ache.”
Maura Higgins – The Irish TV beauty first found fame on Love Island where she found a brief connection with dancer Curtis Pritchard. Since then, she has competed on Dancing On Ice as well as hosting the Irish version of the beauty contest, Glow Up. Since last year, she has been working on building up her career in the US by being the social media correspondent and host of Aftersun to accompany Love Island USA. She even guest hosted an episode of the spin-off, Love Island Games, in place of Maya Jama last year.
Rev. Richard Coles – Former BBC radio host the Rev Richard Coles is a late arrival on I’m A Celebrity, and he’s ready to spill the beans on his former employer. The former Communards and Strictly star, said the BBC did not know its a**e from its elbow last year. An insider said: “Rev Coles will have a variety of tales to tell from his wild days as a pop star in the Eighties, through to performing on Strictly and his later life as a man of the cloth.”
Andy then spoke about how Alan performs a heart-shaped gesture to the camera – something which has been called out by fans – so his daughter Sienna “knows he’s thinking about her.”
He also suggested how being the first camp leader “hadn’t done Alan any favours” and said: “He’s doing really well.
“I would like to see a lot more from him – I just want him to do a trial.”
SHOW SNUB
The unexpected bad feeling in camp was also the subject of discussion for show hosts Ant and Dec.
Speaking about the scenes on Unpacked the Geordie duo made little attempt to back Dean up, turning it into a carefully jokey jab.
“We did ask somebody who wears contact lenses, does it take a minute for your contact lenses to tell and they said yes,” noted Ant.
But Dec chimed in: “When they settle, does that make you really passive aggressive as well?! Just so I know.”
As the studio erupted into laughed, Ant added: “If you haven’t put your drips in, that’s what happens.”