ITV, I’m A Celebrity presenters Ant and Dec have slammed Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren for refusing to enter the jungle camp at the last minute.

Declan Donnelly, 32, told The Mirror: “I don’t think not having Malcolm in the camp has affected the show at all.

“He flew to Australia on a 30-hour flight, spent a night in a hotel and then decided not to do it.
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“Let’s face it, he changed his mind. But he told everyone he was too busy.

“Don’t you think he might have thought about that before he travelled to the other side of the world?”

Ant McPartlin reckoned the punk svengali was too scared of the challenges.

Ant, also 32, sneered: “He changed his mind after seeing the medic, who briefed him on everything in the jungle. The medic tells you what to look out for and what is poisonous.

“Odd that he changed his mind after that.”

Malcolm McLaren has revealed why he decided to quit ITV reality TV show, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here…..because he thinks it’s fake.

He said: “It’s a nonsense to say I quit over a spider.”

“The reality is their jungle is a glorified film set. The whole show is a circus. I was shocked to hear I was never going to be in any danger.”

He told the Daily Star: “The medic, Dr Bob McCarron, told me: ‘Things are so safe, I would send my own kids in to do the show.’ There is nothing bad in there. They’re hoodwinking the public.

“Viewers need to wake up to the fact that the celebrities are just a motley crew in ITV’s horror movie and, basically, I’m no longer interested in the script. I understand its popularity and all about the pantomime torture camp. I had every intention to appear on the show.

“But when the trials are tricks to fool the public about a danger that isn’t there, it proves this show is nothing more than a circus.”

He added: “I think they fix it and they know exactly who is going to win. It’s all set up. They know who’s gonna win and who’s gonna lose.

“In my opinion, it’s totally and utterly fixed. This is not a reality show, it’s a fake one.”

A show insider hit back at the claims, telling the paper: “It is laughable that Malcolm appears to have such an intimate knowledge of the jungle, yet by his own admission he has never watched the show and he has never been in camp.

“The reality is there are plenty of dangers in the jungle and all the celebrities receive health and safety talks prior to their entrance because of the deadly animals which lurk.

“As for Malcolm’s accusations about fixing, they are outrageous and completely untrue and an insult to the millions of viewers who enjoy the show every year.”

I already feel sorry for the celebrities on this years I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, they have only arrived in Australia and already they have been told that they will be split into two groups, and one will be one member down, as Malcolm McLaren has pulled out at the last minute.

Ant and Dec dropped a bombshell to the I’m A Celebrity contestants on their very first day when they told them they would be starting the show divided into two camps – competing head to head in the Bushtucker Trials for food.

The news of Malcolm’s departure sparked a row between feisty Janice Dickinson and Lynne Franks who both wanted to go for a showdown with Malcolm to try to persuade him to change his mind.

After Janice, Lynne, Gemma, and J got together they were greeted by Dec who explained that this year the contestants were starting off in separate camps – one called Snake Rock and the other called Croc Creek.

He said: “There was supposed to be five of you in this group. Unfortunately your fifth member, Malcolm McLaren has decided not to join you.”

He added: “He’s not coming – leaving Snake Rock at a serious disadvantage. He’s in another part of this hotel refusing to come and meet you.”

Janice then asked if she could go and talk to Malcolm and a bemused Lynne Franks asked: “Has he seriously pulled out?”

Dec then told the team: “Croc Creek are your rivals. You’re in direct competition from now on…You’ll be going head to head in the Bushtucker Trials – you’ll be in competition for everything. Either you eat or they eat – the losing team doesn’t get anything. You’re going head to head over everything.”

But J still couldn’t believe it and he asked Dec: “Are you being serious about Malcolm? So he’s just going back to England?”

Dec replied: “Yes”

Lynne then suggested that she should go to try to persuade Malcolm. She said: “It should be just me. I know him. I know the guy, you know.”

But Janice wasn’t happy with this idea having already suggested that she should be the one to go.

She told Lynne: “You don’t want me as an enemy.”

Janice added: “It’s my idea.”

Lynne then backed down and said: “You go.”

She added: “You’ll go in screaming at him.”

Janice retorted: “How do you know?”

Dec suggested: “Why don’t you both go?”

In the end Janice went alone to meet Malcolm but Dec then came back into the room and asked Lynne to go too and Lynne exited the room.

As Gemma and J were left alone to chat J said: “It’s good that Lynne’s in she’ll be really calming. They’re completely different personalities but they’re both strong women.”

Janice then returned and told her new team mates: “I knocked on the door and I said, ‘hi Malcolm it’s Janice Dickinson’…I opened the door…he slammed the door in my face.”

61 year old Malcolm McLaren took some persuading to join I’m a Celebrity, and reveals he’s never seen the show.

“I’ve been talked through it on a number of occasions with one of the producers, who have been clamouring at my gate to persuade me to participate in this show for a number of years, and somehow they’ve managed to lasso me this time. I know not much more than that, other than one of my ex Sex Pistols, Johnny Rotten, was on the show once upon a time. But having said that, I’d say I’m reasonably well oiled in the world of TV shows. I’ve been on them for number of years across all nations.”

When it comes to living in the jungle Malcolm says: “I can only imagine what that’s like in the foliage and the dense jungle and I guess it’s a question of how good I can be at being bad in there in order to sort of keep the whole thing rocking and rolling, as they say.”

He has some concerns about what may lurk in the there.

“I’m not exactly an experienced Jungle Jim so I have no idea other than what you can only imagine to be the worst case scenario of poisonous snakes and uncontrollable wild beasts. I’ve had a few of those in my day but of a more urban nature. I should imagine I’m going to act with extreme trepidation. So that’s where it stands at the moment, I’ve got almost printed on my forehead ‘Don’t bungle the jungle’. So that’s my code, that’s my motto.”

Why did he decide to face the snakes and wild beasts?

“Well I was cajoled, flattered, seduced, given arms full of swag. I’m not really thinking beyond that. I think it’s often best for someone like me not to think too hard about these things. If I do, I might have that awful factor that I’ve been accused of so much in my life of getting bored really quickly so to not think about it and just to be there will be the best route possible for someone like me.”

As for special skills Malcolm says the only skill he’s ever had is “being good at being bad”. He adds: “If that can help you in the jungle, I don’t know. I pray to the Lord it might!”

Malcolm is hoping the jungle experience will be a pleasant holiday. “Oh I hope to have a very nice holiday in the jungle. I hope to have a long, good rest. I hope to be able to meditate on my life and times. It will hopefully be a brilliant holiday, even better than when I’m by the sunny shores of the Caribbean or whatever.

“I am looking forward to doing it with people who I probably don’t know but then again I have met an awful lot of people on this planet, but I probably won’t know anyone and that’ll be intriguing. I’m always up for knowing someone new, so I look forward to all of that.”

He agrees he could irritate his fellow campmates, but then again they should be wary of annoying him.

“I could annoy people by not listening to them, and I am probably the number one person for not obeying any kind of rules. I am utterly irresponsible, I am completely childish, and probably everything this production team and society hate so there you go. You have to take it as it comes, dear.”

When it comes to winding up Malcolm it would be people who are opposite to him and try and follow or enforce rules.” It’s very, very hard for me to end up in company of that kind. It usually would end up in a fracas at some point. Blows will be committed to each other or towards each other. It could be very explosive.”

Malcolm admits he hasn’t got any idea of how to prepare for the jungle experience.

“I don’t know what to prepare for places that I have no real experience of. I keep thinking Jungle Jim, Jungle Jim, and I don’t know why. I think I must have seen some serial on the telly when I was about seven or eight, that’s a long time ago and TV I think had only just begun, but they did have a programme on the BBC called Jungle Jim and so that’s about all I can remember – that and Tarzan, but I’m not sure I can behave like Tarzan.”

So what are the things that he will miss while he’s on the show?

“Well probably a good bathroom, and the second thing is probably nice clothes, looking forever fashionable and being reasonably good looking and all that goes with that, which is a good urban lifestyle. All of that will sort of disappear and I will feel fairly naked. “
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Malcolm has met many artists in his varied life and when it come to celebrity supporters while he is in the jungle he says there will be: “Thousands, stretching from Damien Hurst to Kate Moss to a host of stars in Hollywood and artists from all spheres.”