I’m A Celebrity is back with Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly welcoming back nine familiar faces from the original series.
One of the stars hoping to be crowned I’m A Celeb Legend is BBC’s Question of Sport star and former England cricketer, Phil Tufnell.
Phil retired from professional cricket before the 2003 season in order to participate in the Australian version of I’m A Celeb, which he went on to win.
The bowler was known for his cheerful personality which made him a popular sports pundit and TV star.
He was a team captain on Question of Sport from 2008 until the 2021 reshuffle of hosts and presenters.
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He left the sporting panel show after the BBC decided on a complete overhaul, giving the series a brand-new look and line-up.
Paddy McGuinness was made host, with sporting stars Sam Quek and Ugo Monye taking over as team captains.
The changes did not go down well with viewers, who slammed the BBC for “ruining” one of their favourite shows.
At the time, the BBC defended the shake-up, saying in a statement: “One of the reasons the show remains successful is because the hosts and captains change.
“It’s always been important that Question of Sport remains an authentic sports quiz which we hope continues to entertain.”
A couple of months after the reshuffle, Phil spoke out about stepping down from his role on the show, saying it was “a shame” he had to leave.
He told the Telegraph: “I was really enjoying myself [on the show]. It wasn’t like going to work.
“It was just turning up and having a good time with your mates. And then, they sort of said, ‘Right, OK, we’re going to take it in a new direction’. And we sort of went, ‘Oh, crikey. That’s a shame.
“But there you go. I was quite philosophical about it. If you do anything for 13 or 14 years, you’ve had a pretty good stab at it. And so I was like, ‘OK, thanks for the memories’. And looking back on it, I loved every single minute. I haven’t got a bad word to say.
“I mean, I remember sitting there when I was a kid, with my brother, my mum and dad. We’d be in teams. I’m with dad, my brother’s with my mum. We’d sit down and watch Emlyn Hughes.
“So to then be part of that, first as a player, which was like a badge of honour – you hadn’t made it unless you’d been asked to go on Question of Sport – and then as a captain, it was a huge honour. But mainly just such a laugh.”
I’m A Celebrity All Stars airs on ITV from 9pm. Question of Sport airs on BBC One on Fridays from 7.30pm
