Colin Fassnidge’s arrival in the ‘I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!’ jungle on Wednesday night was positively received by his fellow campmates.
But contestant Mel Buttle, who voluntarily left the show earlier in the episode due to her snake phobia, said she’s “absolutely gutted” about Colin’s timing as she didn’t get to meet the former ‘My Kitchen Rules’ judge in the flesh.
“I’m actually raging about that – that I missed him,” Mel told HuffPost Australia over the phone on Thursday.
Having been a judge on ‘The Great Australian Bake Off’, the comedian said she “could have had a friend in there to talk about food with” had Colin come in earlier.
“I think he’s a great choice. I was like, ‘Come on’, because we were all waiting for the chef to come in,” she said, explaining she had seen a chef being teased in the promos before her phone was taken away a few days before filming.
“I know a lot of chefs and I was like ‘Please, please be someone cool’ and they got Colin.”
The 45-year-old chef made his ‘I’m A Celeb’ debut in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night, appearing in a clown-themed challenge where contestants Abbie Chatfield and Toni Pearen had to rescue him.
In an Instagram post after the episode aired, Colin told his followers he had “lied” about his whereabouts a few months ago when the show was filmed in New South Wales.
“Well that time I went to Ireland .......... well I lied !!! After the year we had , why not do it !!!!!! Strap in cos I know what’s coming !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” he wrote.
He is rumoured to have stepped in as the replacement for Pete Evans who was reportedly ‘dropped’ from the show following a social media post featuring a white nationalist symbol used by extremist movements and neo-Nazis.
Colin has appeared on Channel 7′s ‘My Kitchen Rules’ since 2013 as a guest judge and mentor to the teams in the kitchen. He’s known for being very direct with contestants and, as his own website quotes, is a “no-nonsense chef”.
On Sunday night ‘I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!’ debuted with 10 famous faces: Abbie Chatfield, Ash Williams, Grant Denyer, Jack Vidgen, Jess Eva, Mel Buttle, Paulini Curuenavuli, Toni Pearen and Travis Varcoe. Since then Robert ‘Dipper’ DiPierdomenico and Pettifleur Berenger have also joined as campmates. Mel departed on Wednesday.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the show was pre-recorded over four weeks in Australia instead of being filmed live in the usual South African jungle. However, viewers will be able to vote for the eventual winner.
The celebrities will live on a diet of rice and beans and compete in physically demanding challenges in a bid to win $100,000 for their chosen charity.
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