ITV I'm A Celebrity hit with Ofcom complaints as Ant and Dec jokes riles viewers

ITV I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! has been hit with a number of Ofcom complaints. The popular TV show returned to screens just over a week ago, with Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly returning to host the programme.

But it seems that some viewers have been left unimpressed with the duo's jokes. The show has racked up 70 complaints from viewers since it hit the air this month.

Some fans have not been happy with jokes made by Ant and Dec, where they referenced the Bible and the Christian faith. Their jokes came after Reverend Richard Coles entered the Australian jungle alongside former Love Island star Maura Higgins.

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Ant and Dec have been seen making prayer hands as orchestral music plays in the background while talking about Richard during the live shows, Mirror reports. Richard was ordained in 2005, eight years after he and Jimmy Somerville split from synth pop duo The Communards.

In 1991, he became Roman Catholic before returning to the Church of England in 2001. Ahead of his jungle entrance, Ant made a remark about Richard while appearing on spin-off show I'm A Celebrity...Unpacked.

The presenter said he thought Maura would bring fun and energy into camp, while Richard would act as a stable and calm figure. Ant added: "More people might know her."

Richard has been leaving viewers shocked since joining the camp as he made a cheeky comment about bedding a royal earlier this week. GK Barry - real name Grace Keeling - asked Richard: "Who's the most interesting person you've ever met?"

When he told her he thinks all people are interesting, she narrowed it down and asked whether he ever met a member of the Royal Family. He confirmed he had and quickly quipped: "Great in bed..." before bursting out laughing.

One user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Who has Richard bedded from the royal family? Have I missed something?!" Another wrote: "Reverend Richard said a Royal was good in bed."

A third commented: "I love Richard so much and I need to know which royal he was talking about." GK also questioned Richard about being gay while being religious.

She asked: "Did you find it quite difficult being gay and doing that job?" The Reverend said: "No, not at all. I’ve never given it a moment’s twinge of anxiety over whether God thought it was alright or not.

"Whether other people thought it was alright or not, well I’m happy to have that argument…" He added of his sexuality: "Also, I was not the first.

"Sometimes I look at documents from the early church, or the church of the middle ages and I just think - so gay." GK admitted in the Bush Telegraph: "I came into this jungle, maybe not knowing who I would gel with or who I would be close with in here and never in a million years if you told me that I would be getting on best with a reverend would I have believed you."