ITV executives had to step in before the anticipated, potentially awkward meeting between Ant and Dec and model and TV personality Kelly Brook. Brook is one of the 10 stars venturing into the Australian outback for eight weeks filled with challenging tasks and bushtucker trials. Her inclusion in the lineup has stirred up concerns, as tensions reportedly linger from a long-standing dispute.

Back in 2009, Kelly briefly served as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, joining Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, and Piers Morgan. However, her stint ended abruptly after just a few days. While Simon attributed her departure to the show’s struggle with a four-judge format, Kelly alleged that Ant and Dec played a role in her exit. As her participation in I’m A Celebrity was announced, rumors of unease surrounding their reunion emerged.

ITV aims to address what insiders call the “Kelly issue” directly. Sources suggest that Ant and Dec might opt to humorously acknowledge the past tension rather than avoid it altogether.

Nevertheless, insiders from MailOnline note that Kelly may not appreciate the comedic angle.

While sources indicate that Kelly is poised to deliver riveting television moments with her encounter with Ant and Dec, they also caution that she has a long memory when it comes to past grievances.

“Kelly might be all smiles, but underneath, she is a tough, tough woman who doesn’t take well to being crossed,” a friend of the star said.

“She thinks Ant and Dec sneered at her for being a Page 3 girl; they didn’t think she had any talent.”

They added that Kelly is “a down-to-earth working-class girl” who “hates snobby behaviour.

“She’s already been telling journalists she can’t wait to see [Ant and Dec] again.”

According to The Sun, after losing her job on the beloved talent show, Kelly said: “The people at ITV were telling me that I had upset Ant and Dec, and that was it.

“I would love to have stayed on the show. I really felt it was working out. Ant and Dec had never been anything but pleasant to my face, but clearly, they didn’t want me on the show.

“Their egos are such that they were saying to themselves, ‘How dare she think she can come on to our show?’, and since then they’ve been very vocal about their displeasure at me being there.”

The hosts have also addressed Kelly’s BGT departure in their 2009 memoir titled Ooh! What a Lovely Pair: Our Story.

Ant and Dec made their feelings known about how they felt about Kelly being brought on board.

They penned: “Obviously, as hosts of the show, we have to justify that kind of thing to the audience, and no one could give us a good reason why Kelly was on board.

“The simple answer was that Simon, without talking to anyone, had decided it was a good idea. We didn’t agree.”

Ant and Dec admitted that they “felt sorry” for Kelly after her stint on Britain’s Got Talent didn’t work out.

However, they revealed in their memoir that they were told, “it wasn’t anything personal with Kelly; it was just the four judges didn’t work.”