Spencer Matthews has candidly opened up about being kicked off I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here over his use of steroids.
Back in 2015, the former Made In Chelsea star was removed from the jungle after just three days when producers realised he was taking a drug that’s illegal in Australia.
The father-of-three, who is married to Irish presenter Vogue Williams, has now admitted it was “the worst thing that’s ever happened” in his career.
Speaking on The Mail’s Everything I Know About Me podcast, Spencer admitted he hates being referred to as a former I’m A Celeb contestant “because I wasn’t really”.
The 35-year-old recalled: “I was looking forward to that so much right and I wanted it so badly because it is bang up my street.
“Being in that Jungle, I wouldn’t have cared about any of the challenges, I would have absolutely loved it and would have been able to play a really good role.”
Spencer explained that he was “young and impressionable” at the time, and had started taking Anvar, a type of anabolic steroid, before he entered the jungle to prepare for a charity boxing match.
Anvar, which is illegal in Australia unless prescribed by a doctor, is extremely addictive and can cause serious withdrawal symptoms if you suddenly stop taking it.
Spencer claimed producers initially knew he was taking the drug, but didn’t realise it was illegal Down Under.
“I declared that I had this Anavar they said it was fine to take. They gave it to me in the jungle, having declared it,” he said.
“On the second or third day they pulled me to one side and they said ‘Anavar you can’t travel – you brought illegal drugs essentially into the country – we didn’t realize that Anavar was illegal.’
“I said: ‘Cool, let’s throw it in the bin.’ And they said: ‘No, pulling you off these drugs could cause withdrawal. And we wouldn’t know how you’d react. So we’re gonna have to pull you from the show.'”
The TV personality begged producers to let him stay on the show, but they refused.
“All of a sudden, I’ve been pulled out haven’t had the chance to explain anything to anyone,” he explained.
“They were saying ‘you’ve put the whole show at risk by bringing these pills into Australia’ And I was like ‘but they’re here, you’re holding them, there is no issue. Nobody knows that they’re here. So just throw them in the bin.’
Spencer then claimed he was left alone in a room for hours, and said: “I was just crying my eyes out, completely deflated, knowing that all the time that passed, they wouldn’t really be able to put me back in because I’ve not been in there. It’s cheating, essentially.”
Upon his return to the UK, the TV personality’s reputation was severely damaged, and Spencer recalled people thinking he was “filthy”.
“I really regret taking those pills because they made very little difference to my life or my mood or even at the end of the day my physique,” he said.
“I’m really sorry if it kind of bothered anyone but the level of animosity that was felt towards me for that was enormous. I think it’s because the show is so huge and so successful and has so many millions of viewers.”
“But I was ‘filthy’. I was a huge drug addict in the eyes of the public and somebody who had to remove themselves from the jungle because he didn’t have his pills. It’s just rubbish. That never happened that was just absolute, categoric b******s.
“And I felt like I’d ruined the biggest opportunity that I’d ever had.”
“I was really furious. I was deeply sad and the most misunderstood I’ve ever felt. It was the worst thing that’s ever happened in my professional career.”
Spencer continued: “It took it took a couple of years to cool off from the events in Australia then I went back to Made in Chelsea.”
“Which by the way is something I wouldn’t necessarily have done had I done well in the jungle. But given that nobody else was hiring after Australia, it was a tail between the legs moment.”
After a brief return to Made In Chelsea, Spencer landed a spot on The Jump in 2017 – where he met his now-wife Vogue.
The couple tied the knot in 2018, and share three children together – Theodore, Gigi and Otto.
Spencer has previously praised his partner Vogue for helping him turn his life around, after years of excessive drinking.
He now drinks alcohol in moderation, and owns a successful clean liquor brand called Clean Co.
