He stepped into the I’m a Celebrity jungle as arguably one of the lesser known campmates.

But there’s no doubt the whole country – and certainly the 10million viewers watching the show at home – all know about Dean McCullough now. From accusations he was ‘faking’ his screams to Ant McPartlin ’s cross words with him over a perceived lack of effort, Dean’s jungle journey has been nothing if not eventful.

But – ask anyone – and they all agree: I’m a Celeb 2024 wouldn’t be the same without him in it. When the Mirror meets up with Dean back at his hotel after being evicted from the jungle, he says he guessed something was up after being voted SEVEN times to do a Bushtucker trial.

“It was very confusing, and I didn’t know at first why people were voting for me,” he admits. “I thought ‘what have I done that has made people want to vote for me’.” After the trials began racking up, it suddenly dawned upon him. “I thought, ‘Oh God, I’m getting rinsed. I’m getting trolled online here,’” he says.

Dean McCullough became the second celebrity to leave camp on Monday night
 ( Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)

( Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)

Some fans didn’t believe that his cries in the trials were real, while Ant even questioned whether he was trying hard enough. But he insists the screams were genuine. “They were 100 per cent real. I can’t tell you how much being on national TV in front of Ant and Dec was incredibly intimidating and also just how scary it is, especially when you’re in a box and you can’t move, and there’s creepy-crawlies going up your bum.”

He says he regrets ending two of the trials so early – particularly the one involving fish guts – and understood Ant’s frustration. “I knew Ant was being slightly grumpy with me but I put it down to the weather. I thought, ‘I know what’s happened here? It’s raining and you can’t play golf, so you’re taking it out on us, right? It was like being told off by a big brother,” he laughs.

Dean says that after him and GK Barry flopped in the Drown in the Dumps trial, they both “noticed their irritation that day.” But Dean was determined to prove them both wrong – and make his biggest critic Ant pleased with him again. And he did just that after excelling in later trials.

He said: “It actually became a thing where I wasn’t just winning stars for camp to feed them all. It was that I wanted to become friends with Ant McPartlin and make him proud of me. Eventually he was shaking my hand, saying: ‘you did it,’ I was totally made up. I love Ant and Dec…and always have been since a little boy.”

The teabag smuggler with the Mirror’s Tom Bryant ( 
Image: Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)

Speaking to me at the Marriott Hotel in Surfers’ Paradise, a freshly-showered Dean is on great form and just as funny in real life. I was worried that he might be upset by his early exit from the jungle, and getting voted for all the trials But it’s clear he is made of sterner stuff.

He says a large part of his resolve is down to quitting alcohol four years ago – and also overcoming terrible homophobic bullying while growing up. “I can face my fears, because this is nothing compared to what I’ve been through,” he admits. “I’m not worried about being portrayed in a certain way…I know who I am, my friends and family know who I am. It’s why I have got such a fight in me – and why it was important for me to prove myself to my camp mates that I was strong, and could be relied on.”

When we meet, it’s sunny at last following huge storms which have pummeled the camp for days. He says conditions were so bad that campmates have started getting trenchfoot. “Imagine the worst camping trip you’ve ever been on. You think it’s going to be gorgeous, then everything gets wet and you’re stuck there for weeks. Nothing ever dries out,” he says.

“It’s kind of a thing now in camp where if you don’t have trench foot, you’re kind of not cool. It was a real thing, and it does bring the mood down. Me and Coleen were both like: ‘when are we going to get a chance to do some sun bathing?’” One night the rain got so bad they all had to shelter in the Bush Telegraph for 45 minutes.

Ant McPartlin made a series of savage digs at Dean
“All our crocodile tail for dinner was ruined, so they gave us tofu instead,” he says. “If that’s not a short change, I don’t know what is…from crocodile tail to tofu. I’m from Belfast, and I live in Manchester, the two wettest places in the UK. I will never whinge about that rain ever again. It was biblical.”

Dean also faced accusations he wasn’t pulling his weight and was nicknamed Houdini, because he supposedly used to disappear when chores needed doing. And then there was that spat with Alan Halsall over wood. But Dean laughs both off. “Houdini is the best thing ever. I’m gonna get that tattooed on me,” he says. “I was pulling my weight. We were all pulling our weight in there. The beautiful thing about camp is that everything ebbs and flows. Some people are out busy doing trials and challenges, while others take care of camp.”

On Alan, he says it was a storm in a teacup. “I love the fact talking about wood and water created a stir online,” he says. “We were laughing straight afterwards, I love Alan, he is absolutely amazing.” One of Dean’s favourite relationships in camp was between him and Coleen, and she has already invited him over to her house after the jungle.

“I did say to her, ‘I’m not really giving you any choice. I’m just going to rock up at your door,’” he laughs. “She actually said to me, ‘I’m really glad that you picked me, because you’re going to bring me out of my shell,’ and that’s exactly what happened. She really opened up to me.” He says how he opened up a wellness retreat in camp with Coleen as well as Oti Mabuse as his inaugural guests.

“We were doing energy healing, and talking about some of our deepest fears….and the three of us really bonded. Coleen says, ‘I’m just ordinary.’ And I actually think that people think ordinary is a bad thing. But it’s so not…and her house isn’t ordinary at all. She has four bars!”

Dean admitted his screams during the trials were completely real ( 
Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

He said Coleen talked all the time about the love for her family in camp – and was “very quirky with brilliant one-liners.” He added: “ I think the fact that she has a tunnel in her house is really something, and also the fact that she doesn’t have a PA. I was like, ‘how can you be Coleen Rooney and not have a PA?’ She said ‘I just do it all on my own with my lady that looks after my house. And I’m like, Oh, my God, she’s just a machine.”

He also loves the fact that Rebekah Vardy has been bad-mouthing him. “I love the fact she is talking about me, I am Team Coleen all the way,” he laughs. Dean was involved in more controversy after smuggling teabags into camp – and reveals he hid them in the bottom of his water bottle holder.

“I was just leaving my hotel room, and I spotted the tea bags on the side. I was about to be taken into camp, and I thought, you’re coming with me,” he says. He says he was amazed security didn’t pick them up. “You know, whenever you’re like, going through customs and you don’t have anything to declare, but in that minute, you think, Oh, my God, I need to declare something.

“But it went down an absolute treat. I thought nothing bonds people like a cup of tea so just had to sneak them in.” Now his focus is very much on enjoying the luxury hotel…and getting his weight back up after losing 10 pounds in the jungle. He also can’t wait to spend time with his biggest fan, mum Ann, and Facetime his much loved shih-tzu Freddie back home in the UK.

Our time is nearly up but not before one further golden nugget from Dean. “I weed into a bottle in the helicopter before I jumped out of it. I was desperate…I am sorry,” he says looking sheepish. With the world at his feet after such a bravura I’m a Celeb performance, am sure producers will forgive him…