‘Real reason’ Dean McCullough got record stars in Bushtucker Trial – and it’s NOT because he faked fear, says Radio1 pal
DEAN McCullough celebrated his best ever Bushtucker Trial result amid backlash from I’m A Celebrity fans.
It was the sixth time the public had voted for the Radio One presenter – despite accusations he’s faking his fears.
Host Ant McPartlin moaned on Unpacked: “Who’s still voting for Dean? I don’t get it” as frustrated campmates voiced they desperately want the public to stop voting for him to do trials.
“I’ve got no fears left to face,” insisted Dean as he embarked on Jack and the Scream Stalk during Monday night’s episode.
He went on to achieve his personal best score of 10 out of 12 stars.
Now his BBC Radio One pal Danni Diston has defended Dean against allegations he was previously acting up for the cameras with his terrified screams.
Explaining why Dean is performing better than when he twice called out I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Danni exclusively told The Sun: “He’s probably dealing with the fact that he’s hungry himself.
“Maybe that’s giving him more adrenaline to get it done.
“I think when you’ve done one trial, it’s hard, then when you do two you get used to it and three and four and so on.
“I think it helps when he’s got someone there to really cheer him on.
“He’s done so well when he’s been with Coleen and when he was with Danny.
“I think having an extra person with him clearly boosted his confidence.
“He’s getting better. He’s definitely getting better. Him and Ant even had a handshake.
“As Dean likes to say they’re besties. He loves it.”
The heights trial included a large beanstalk and a castle with 12 stars up for grabs in 12 minutes.
He started by climbing up the beanstalk, collecting stars as he went.
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.”
When he got to the top of the beanstalk, and to the highest point in the Trial, he had to collect and assemble the golden egg, before moving to the castle to collect the rest of the stars.
Dean moaned: “I’m knackered lads. I hate heights. I’m so tired.”
As he made his way up the beanstalk, Dean had to put his hand in various hell holes containing the likes of green ants, cockroaches, giant mealworms and spiders to collect each star.
Next up, he had to piece together the golden egg which constituted star number 5.
Finally, he had to conquer the castle, where the remaining seven stars were up for grabs, with Dean needing to climb the castle wall to reach each of the hell holes.
But as Dean grew higher up the castle wall and it began to tip, he grew tired and ran out of strength to hold on, meaning he let go of the hand hold – dramatically falling and losing out on the final two stars.
However, it was still his highest number of stars so far – without rallying support from another campmate.
Ant and Dec gave Dean a round of applause and the elated radio personality made his way back to camp to let them know the good news.
Asked if Dean now deserves a break from doing more Bushtucker Trials, Danni said: “I think he he deserves a break, but also it is fun to watch him.
“He’s funny, he screams, and we love it so I’m kind of up for both. He probably wouldn’t want me to say that, he’d probably say ‘stop voting’, but it’s great telly.”
From January, Danni is moving to a new slot on BBC Radio One with her co-host Sam MacGregor.
Sam and Danni, who previously held the Weekend Breakfast slot, will now host an afternoon show that runs from Friday to Sunday, 1-4pm.