I'm A Celeb's Ant McPartlin slammed by fans over his 'mean' comments about Sam Thompson

If there's one thing Ant and Dec are known for, it's taking the mick. In a way that's appropriate for Saturday night telly, of course.

But their brand of humour has recently riled up some viewers of I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.

In particular, Ant McPartlin's comments about contestant Sam Thompson has left some fans not very happy on social media.

The Made in Chelsea star, who is in the jungle alongside Nella Rose, Josie Gibson and Nigel Farage, has quickly become a fan favourite.

Sam has shown to be pretty affectionate towards his campmates - having been very excited to meet boxer Tony Bellew and giving him a hug and also hugging everyone after succeeding in his trial.

And when talking about Sam's participation, Ant quipped: "At least the trial went well. It delivered the ultimate prize for camp, the one thing they value more than anything."

When Dec replied: "Food", Ant joked back: "No, an hour without being hugged by Sam. That would have been bliss.

"You see, he is a nice kid and all that, he is a nice kid but the hug is too much. I wouldn't like that, that's too much for me. Back off."

Ouch.

Some viewers at home weren't impressed with Ant's comments and took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their opinions.

ITV

One said: "Sam’s gonna come out the jungle and see ant and dec taking the p**s out of his hugging and its gonna break his heart."

Another added: "That was a bit mean from Ant about Sam."

Someone else commented: "Ant, i love you, but respectfully, shut up being negative about Sam."

And a fourth chimed in: "Ah, I love Ant and Dec but don't like the jibes at Sam. I'm not a big hugger either but people are who they are."

Tyla has reached out to Ant McPartlin's representatives for comment.

And this isn't the first time viewers have been quick to criticise in regards to Sam - with Nella Rose also receiving some backlash for her 'insensitive' reaction to Sam prior to their trial.

Nella, 26, was paired up with Sam, 31, for the recent Touchdown of Terror Bushtucker Trial, which saw them go head to head against Grace Dent and Nigel Farage.

ITV

Ahead of the task, Sam had vowed to give Nella all the ‘encouragement’ in the world – even if inside he was worried about letting her down.

After telling fellow campmate Danielle Harrison that she wanted positive encouragement, she sat Sam down to echo her thoughts – stressing that she just needed ‘calm’.

“Now this is the energy we need for the trial,” Nella told him.

“You see this peace that we have just unlocked within you, we need calmness because your partner Nella gets overwhelmed and she tends to lock up.

“And then afterwards, when I do well, you can jump on my back.”