Ant McPartlin slams Alan Halsall for 'passive aggressive' reaction to I'm A Celeb clash

TV personality Ant McPartlin has labelled Alan Halsall as 'passive aggressive' following a disagreement with Dean McCullough on I'm a Celebrity. The incident unfolded after the BBC Radio 1 DJ had a heated debate with the Coronation Street actor during the show, concerning how Alan disrupted Dean's sleep.

During an Instagram Live session, Ant and his presenting partner Dec discussed the camp's first signs of friction. Dec prompted the conversation with, "Can we talk about the first little bit of tension in the camp," leading Ant to ask: "What would you have done, would you have kicked off? Alan was kind of OK about it, but he had a little bit of passive aggressiveness back as well, didn't he? ".

Ant expressed his disdain for Dean's reaction, saying: "I wouldn't stand for any of that... I would be like 'shut-up'."

The tiff began when camp leader Alan woke Dean from a nap, needing him to gather firewood with Loose Women's Jane Moore. After Dean took a while to get moving, Alan questioned his reluctance with, "You don't fancy it? No? " and proceeded to help Jane due to camp rules.

Dean caught up later and told Alan he could leave, triggering further exchange, reports the Mirror.

Alan mentioned to Dean, "I was trying to wake you up as soft as I could," eliciting Dean's retort, "Listen to me. If you're going to wake me up, you need to give me a minute, alright? " He continued, explaining the wait needed for his contact lenses to adjust post-slumber, and rebuffed Alan's approach saying, "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."

Dean repeatedly urged Alan to "listen" to him, with Alan responding: "I didn't say it how you think I meant it, but if you took it that way, then I apologise."

The actor clarified he wasn't trying to insult the radio DJ, and Dean acknowledged his understanding but expressed feeling that he "didn't get a chance to respond". In the Bush Telegraph, Dean recounted, "I opened my eyes and wee Tyrone from Coronation Street is like: 'Come on, mate, you need to go down to the bottom of the creek.'" He felt rushed by Alan's approach, saying, "He didn't even give me a chance to say yes or no because he went: 'You don't fancy it? No? ' and ran. He was being a real camp leader."

Dean added, "I was like: 'Whoa, whoa, whoa don't dig me out like that.' And I had to say to him: 'If you're going to say: 'Don't fancy it? ' - give me a chance'."

Despite the misunderstanding, Dean was keen to assist, "Because, of course, I fancy it. I want to help Jane. I went straight down and helped her."

Later, Dean apologised to Jane and helped her carry wood for the campfire.

Reflecting on the incident, Alan admitted in his own Bush Telegraph moment, "It was a flippant comment, I'm sorry if you took it in the wrong way. Wasn't actually meant like that, it was just a bit of a joke."

He empathised with Dean, adding, "If I was asleep and you woke me up, I won't fancy it either."