Lack of Jungle airtime meant I fell at first fence, claims Frankie

AS one of the greatest jockeys in racing history, Frankie Dettori’s swift elimination from I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! came as a shock to many.

Now the 52-year- old has blamed ITV’s editing and his lack of airtime for becoming the first star to succumb to the public vote on Sunday.

He was followed last night by TikTok star Nella Rose, 26.

Dettori said he was astonished to learn from his wife, Catherine, that he was rarely shown on screen. ‘You don’t see what is edited on TV and speaking to my wife, she said I had very little airtime but I thought I had done a lot,’ he told the Mail.

‘It depends on how the programme is edited. But, to me, I have come out as a winner.’

After just 12 days on the ITV show, Dettori called his departure ‘bittersweet’ and told hosts Ant and Dec he was ‘disappointed to be the first one out’.

He arrived in the jungle four days after the rest of the celebrities alongside boxer Tony Bellew, 41. Speaking about the troubles of being a late arrival, he said: ‘Everybody had bonded for four days. So I’m the new kid who arrived in a new school.

‘I had to go round and get to know people because, apart from Nigel Farage, I had never met anyone.’ The jockey was bewildered to learn Mr Farage’s bottom had been viewed by millions as the stars were instructed to keep their clothes on.

In last night’s episode, the campmates voted for who would do the bushtucker trial. Fred Sirieix, 51, insisted he wanted to. The French maître d’ had to fend off snakes, rats and rotting vegetables to find the stars – winning seven out of nine.