James Haskell defended over 'I'm A Celebrity' conflict as wife says show is 'orchestrated to get big reactions'

Chloe Madeley has jumped to the defence of her husband James Haskell after he was seen causing conflict in the I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! jungle, claiming the show was being "orchestrated" to get a reaction out of him.

Haskell, 34, butted heads with his campmates on last night's instalment of the ITV show during a challenge where he described the camp as a "circus of stupidity" as the contestants attempted to earn a treat by answering a question.

Last night saw Madeley, 32, hold a Q&A session on her Instagram account, where one fan asked if Haskell's "snappiness" was down to his restricted diet as the contestants are fed a limited amount of food.

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The daughter of Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan responded: “The poor guy is in a right old grump. His BMR(basic metebolic rate) is around 2500 cals his TDEE(Total daily energy expenditure) is around 4000 cals so to go down to 800 maybe 1200 with stars, is clearly taking its toll on him.

“I think people should remember this is a TV show orchestrated to get big reactions out of big characters, and maybe take it a tad less seriously(sic).”

A spokesperson for the ITV show told Yahoo News UK: “Opinions and decisions are completely under the control of the campmates themselves.”

The jungle stars were taking part in a Dingo Dollar challenge when those in the camp were asked what percentage of adults think a ‘stiff upper lip’ is a good thing, with the options being either 37 percent or 57 percent.

However, the former rugby union player didn't want to spend too much time deliberating on the answer but was met by opposition from presenter Kate Garraway.

She told him: "James, we’ve got nothing else to do, it’s ok."

James then retorted: "Well, you just keep asking the same question, put your hand up for 37 percent. See, you’re outnumbered, go with A’."

He went on to tell comedian Andrew Maxwell he was "too intelligent" to think about the answer to the questions for too long.

Haskell vented: "It irritates the p**s out of me because it’s that simple. Explain the question, answer the question A or B, it’s a circus of stupidity.

"I can’t do it, I’m too intelligent and too switched on, just put your hands right up, let someone count them, right, the majority win, shut up and let’s move on. I’m not going to kill my brain cells doing that. It’s like someone is sticking a screwdriver in my eye."

Madeley also went on to post a photo of her husband in the jungle to her Instagram stories, further detailing how his mood was down to lack of food.

"Looking at this face breaks my heart," Madeley shared. "Why's he so aggy? Because he's starving. Hungry = Angry...hence hangry."