I’m A Celebrity... South Africa: Carol Vorderman’s ‘unfair’ trial hit with complaints from viewers

Carol Vorderman’s trial on Tuesday has sparked complaints from I’m A Celebrity fans who believe the ‘Tanks of Torment’ challenge was “unfair.” The former Countdown star, 62, who lives in Bristol, was chosen to take part in the tense underwater trial and chose fellow campmate, Fatima Whitbread to assist her.

The trial saw the presenter climb into a large tank of water which was separated into four sections, each filled with different creatures and critters. She was then tasked with collecting the starsand coming up for air in the breathing holes when required.

Carol could only move from one section to the next, when Fatima cranked the handle to open the connecting doors. However, when it came to the last section of the tanks it became too much for Carol to handle.

It was filled with snakes of all sizes and before entering Carol realised that there was a large snake waiting for her inside the breathing room. Carol had managed to collect seven stars, but the prospect of going into the last tank made her panic and she became  visibly emotional.

She admitted to Fatima, Ant and Dec that she couldn’t go ahead with the trial because she has a fear of drowning.

Fans of the ITV show took to Twitter to vent their frustrations as they branded the trial “unfair.” One fan raged: “Seemed a bit unfair to have a bloody great big snake in the breathing hole but it was Carole so who gives a f***?”

Another wrote: “Snake in the breathing hole? Don’t blame you Carol.”“The snakes seem far angrier in South Africa than in Australia, can’t blame her for not wanting to do that one,” said a third person.

Whilst another wrote: "This task is really horrible," and a fifth proclaimed: "Seeing Carol underwater in a confined space with only a small thing with air makes me feel uneasy."

Fans showed their support for Carol, with one chiming in to say: “Want to give Carol a hug. That would have been hard for anyone. I like snakes, and I wouldn’t have been able to do the last one with the snake in the only breathing hole.“

I’m A Celebrity… South Africa was pre-recorded last year at the new setting of South Africa’s Kruger National Park. Carol has been taking to Instagram after every episode to discuss what  happened and to answer any questions from the I’m A Celebrity fans.

In Tuesday night’s Instagram Live, Carol thanked the viewers for their support after she tearfully quit her latest trial. She told her 338,000 Instagram followers: “I hated that trial, I hated it!”

Carol explained to  fans that when she went into the Australian jungle for her first stint on the show, she tactfully said that she wasn’t scared of drowning or that she wasn’t claustrophobic. As she knew that broadcasting her fears would result in being selected for that specific trial.

She revealed her real fears to the I’m A Celebrity producers after leaving the  jungle back in 2016. This resulted in the selection of the ‘Tanks of Torment’ trial on the spin-off version of the ITV show.

She also revealed that Amir, who was voted by the other campmates to leave, had individually told each member of camp to vote for him as he wanted to leave.

Carol captioned the Instagram live which she uploaded to her grid: “INSTA LIVE TUESDAY AFTER @imacelebrity. Thank you for being so lovely about my Tanks of Torment trial....it absolutely petrified me tbh ❤️” She added: “First panic attack of my life....ugh.”

I’m A Celebrity...South Africa continues every night on ITV, at 9pm