I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star Shona McGarty breaks her silence on close bond with Aitch after pining over his departure – as she comes third in final

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Shona McGarty broke her silence on her close bond with Aitch after pining over his departure – as she came third in the show’s final on Sunday night.

The EastEnders actress, 34, made it to the final three but was eliminated leaving Tom Read Wilson and AngryGinge as the last two campmates – with Ginge then taking the crown.

As she spoke in her exit interview with Ant and Dec she gushed about Aitch – who she even sparked romance rumours with during her time on the show.

Asked why she thought they got on so well she told the Geordie duo: ‘To be honest when he came into the Jungle, this rapper, he was all giving it this and that but underneath it all I could tell he was quite scared of the whole experience.

‘He’s very normal, down to earth and we had a similar upbringing, I felt like an older sister to him. I wanted to protect him.’

The show opened with the actress pining for Aitch following his departure from their purpose built jungle camp.

His semi-final elimination hinted at something more than friendship as she was visible shaken that he had to go.

Addressing his shock departure in the Bush Telegraph during Sunday evening’s final, a devastated Shona said: ‘I had to say goodbye to Aitch today… just one more day until I see him again.’

The comment prompted an inevitable wave of speculation from viewers, with many predicting the pair might strike up a romance once Shona leaves the jungle.

Taking to X, one commented: ‘Shona was devastated!’

A second added: ‘The way aitch & Shona hugged… they are SO SWEET!!’

While a third posted: ‘THE AITCH AND SHONA POTENTIAL ROMANCE?! I must know cos they’d be cute af!’ [sic]

It comes after Aitch cleared up what was happening between him and Shona during their three-week stint in the I’m A Celebrity camp.

When asked by the Daily Mail if there was anything romantic between them, he denied it and said: ‘Romantic, no, not at all, she’s a good friend of mine.

‘I just think we had a bond over the music thing, 95 per cent of the conversations we had in the Jungle was literally just about how sick she is at singing.

Asked why she thought they got on so well she told the Geordie duo: 'To be honest when he came into the Jungle, this rapper, he was all giving it this and that but underneath it all I could tell he was quite sacred of the whole experience...'
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Asked why she thought they got on so well she told the Geordie duo: ‘To be honest when he came into the Jungle, this rapper, he was all giving it this and that but underneath it all I could tell he was quite sacred of the whole experience…’

The EastEnders actress, 34, made it to the final three but was eliminated leaving Tom Read Wilson and AngryGinge as the last two campmates
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The EastEnders actress, 34, made it to the final three but was eliminated leaving Tom Read Wilson and AngryGinge as the last two campmates


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When she appeared genuinely shaken that he was eliminated, fans took to X to gush over their bond

When she appeared genuinely shaken that he was eliminated, fans took to X to gush over their bond

‘I knew that she was trying to come out of the Jungle and pursue a music career.

‘I think this is just because of my age, she had the same conversations with Martin, but no one’s going to say she had a romance with him because Martin is married.

‘So, unfortunately, I’m the next option.’

The rapper revealed that when they return to the UK, he will help introduce Shona to his music contacts.

He said: ‘Most of our conversations were me just telling her she sings so well and that she needs to stop being so scared and pursue singing.’

Fans were convinced there was a spark between the two campmates who were both recently single – Shona having ended a nine-year relationship with her fiance David Bracken and Aitch breaking it off with his girlfriend, Lois Cottam, weeks before the jungle.

During the final, Shona joined Tom Read Wilson and AngryGinge in the last Bushtucker Trial where they secured 12 stars.

As they met Ant and Dec at the Bushtucker Trial clearing, they learnt that they would all be taking part in their own challenge to win a starter, main course, dessert and drink for their meal.

Tom took on Bushtucker Bonanza in which he had to eat four dishes to win three main courses for camp and a drink of his choice.

His first dish was a fermented duck egg and scorpion, and in a show first, Tom put the entire fermented duck egg in his mouth.

Ant exclaimed: ‘Oh! We’ve never had that! 25 years and no one’s ever popped it in whole.’

His second dish, which was brand new for 2025, was camel’s brain, this third was a pig’s vagina and his fourth dish was a huntsman spider.

He successfully finished all four dishes, successfully winning four main courses and his drink of choice.

Shona took on Rat Race in order to win all three starters for the group and a drink of her choice.

As she took on her task, she was strapped down inside a tight confined box and had to remove four stars using only her mouth with eight minutes to do so.

Using her tongue to release four stars, she was joined by rats, cockroaches, crickets and mealworms. She won all four stars meaning three starters and a drink of her choice.

Lastly, Ginge took on Helmets of Hell, where he had to put his head into four helmets and his hand in the four boxes below to release each star, with two minutes to win each star.

In the helmets he was joined by mealworms, toads, crickets, cockroaches, lizards, scorpions and snakes.

For his final star he was joined by rats in the hand box and his worst fear, spiders in the head box.

He successfully got four out of four stars winning desserts and a drink of his choice for camp.

That evening, Shona, Ginge and Tom all sat down at the Jungle Banquet where they dined like Kings and Queens.

Addressing his shock departure in the Bush Telegraph during Sunday evening's final, a devastated Shona said: 'I had to say goodbye to Aitch today... just one more day until I see him again'

Addressing his shock departure in the Bush Telegraph during Sunday evening’s final, a devastated Shona said: ‘I had to say goodbye to Aitch today… just one more day until I see him again’

For their drinks, Shona went for a diet coke, Ginge for a coke and Tom, of course, went for a coupe of champagne.

For their starters, Shona requested prawns pil pil, Ginge went for a double cheeseburger and chips and Tom opted for smoked salmon.

For their main course, Shona opted for boiled bacon and cabbage, Ginge for a huge pepperoni pizza and chicken tenders and Tom for venison with red wine jus, dauphinoise potatoes and broad beans.

Lastly for dessert, Shona went for a chocolate fudge cake with double cream, Ginge went for a huge slice of carrot cake and Tom also opted for chocolate fudge cake.