Six-times former World Snooker champion Steve Davis has become the fifth campmate to leave the I’m A Celebrity jungle, after viewers ignored pleas from Alfonso Ribeiro to be sent home to his wife and newborn son in the latest vote-off.
The 56-year-old declared he had a hoot during his 19 days in the jungle, saying: “I haven’t stopped laughing.”
Davis told his fellow celebritiesthat he would miss them after hosts Ant and Dec revealed he was the latest contestant to be voted out by the public instead of the former The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star.
In his interview, Davis said: “Well, it’s a shock. Not that you’re out (of the show), you just can’t believe you’re out in the real world.”
He said banter with others in the camp, who include The Only Way is Essex star Joey Essex , Emmerdale actress Lucy Pargeter and Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington , had kept him going.
“I’ve had so much fun,” said Davis, who turned down a celebratory glass of champagne as it was “too early”.
“I haven’t stopped laughing. The social interaction is brilliant. The jungle part, the critter part – I thought I’d see more and more snakes all over the place.
“The fun part, for me, was camp life.”
He was shown footage of the Bush Tucker Trials he had taken part in, including one where he slipped into a lake before his task had even started – and claimed his “own stupidity” and “lack of common sense” had been his biggest challenge.
In the trial, he had difficulty swimming in the lagoon fully clothed and had to be given an inflatable vest, leading him to give safety advice to others in his eviction interview.
“I’d never swum in clothes before, with boots full up (with water),” he said. “One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is if you have kids, take them swimming with clothes on, like on those survival tests, so they’re used to it.”
Out of the seven remaining contestants, Davis tipped Essex to take the title of Jungle King.
“I want them all to win,” he said. “But I think, you know what? Joey. He’s such a lovely lad. There’s not a bad bone in his body. For him, it would mean a lot.”