ITV I'm A Celebrity's Fred Sirieix defends himself over 'sexist' claims after Josie cooking clash

I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! fans have slammed Fred Sirieix after the First Dates star's 'controlling' attitude towards This Morning's Josie Gibson being made head chef in the camp

I'm A Celebrity star Fred Sirieix has defended himself after fans branded him 'sexist' over his row with Josie Gibson.

The First Dates star butted heads with the This Morning host last week over her culinary skills, claiming she didn't know how to cook rice properly after she'd been assigned the role of chef. He interfered again when Josie, 38, prepared the group's sausage and potatoes dinner, telling YouTuber Nella Rose that he simply "couldn't drop" the matter. Fans were quick to call out the 51-year-old for his nit-picky attitude, with many taking to social media to side with the former Big Brother star in the kitchen row.

Viewers' support for Fred seems to have dropped even further - which could have led to his early exit tonight - after noticing his far calmer reaction to Sam Thompson and Nick Pickard being made chefs by EastEnders actor Danielle Harold in the camp switch-up.

The m'aitre d'hotel did not micromanage their cooking and even complimented their final dish, leaving fans baffled by his sudden change in behaviour. Many people have now speculated that Fred's controlling nature towards Josie was more personal, with some even accusing the hospitality expert of being sexist - something he has since defended himself over.

"Can’t lie this is giving misogyny from Fred cus why wasn’t he this encouraging with josie?" one person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "So Fred doesn’t trust Josie cooking because she’s a woman basically," another unimpressed fan said, while a third wrote: "Josie needs instruction but Sam and Nick are doing perfectly... hmm."

It has now been announced that Fred is the latest contestant to be voted out of the jungle, meaning viewers will not get the chance to see him fret over another dinnertime. "Is Josie a really bad cook or is Fred sexist? Guess we’ll never know," one mystified person wrote following his departure. Fred had his fair share of drama in the camp, arguing with Nella Rose after making a comment that he was old enough to her father, and later confronting Nigel Farage on his pro Brexit views.

Speaking about his criticism of Josie's cooking in his exit interview, Fred accused the Bristol native of "making it up as she goes along." He continued: "There's a lot at stake with the food. And it's not just what you're cooking at the moment which of course is going to be good, because the produce is incredible, it is what you can do the next day with the leftovers of the bones."

He was also asked about him not getting so involved with Sam and Nick's cooking, to which he claimed that they were much more organised and they had a much more ordered approach to the cooking.

Elsewhere in the episode, the campmates enjoyed a karaoke party complete with Nigel Farage singing 'I'm Too Sexy For My Shirt before taking off his tee. Sam Thompson gushed that the social was "amazing" before hailing it as his "favourite night so far," while Josie Gibson held back tears of laughter as she reflected on the evening's shenanigans.

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