David Haye ‘suing ITV for £10,000,000 after channel irreparably damaged his brand’

I’m A Celeb star David Haye is reportedly planning on suing ITV after his appearance on the show (Picture: ITV)

David Haye is reportedly preparing to sue ITV for up to £10,000,000 amid claims of ‘irreparable brand damage’ after the fallout of his appearance on I’m A Celebrity South Africa.

The boxer is said to have instructed lawyers to send a letter to the channel and be demanding a ‘full investigation’ of the show’s edit – which he believes was deliberately manipulated to make him ‘the pantomime villain’.

David, 45, was accused of ‘bullying’ Waterloo Road star Adam Thomas, who was eventually crowned Jungle Legend during Friday’s chaotic live final and whom David insisted during the broadcast was not a ‘worthy winner’.

He also caught heat from fans for his views on women – including his now notorious ‘ugly duckling’ theory, which was branded ‘sexist’ at the time as well by campmate Beverley Callard. 

A source told The Sun: ‘David is absolutely gung-ho about all of this – he is incandescent with rage about how the whole series has been handled and feels he’s being made a scapegoat by ITV.’

The reality star reportedly feels like he was made to look misogynistic, as well as aggressive and a bully, in the edit – but he insists he is ‘none of these’ and has suffered trolling as a consequence.

The former world champion boxer is said to feel he received the ‘panto villain’ edit (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)

‘He can cite examples — such as the Gemma Collins ‘fat-shaming’ moment, which used clever editing and snide eye-rolls, etc to make his remark look damning.’

Adding that his lawyers will go through the series ‘with a fine-toothed comb’ to find more evidence, the insider continued: ‘He is going for damages as a result of the ‘propaganda’ aired against him to recover lost earnings, which lawyers believe could total up to £10million.’

The source also claims that David was previously in talks with Netflix for a show, which have now come to a stop, as well as brand work thought to have been ‘paused’.

David is thought to have instructed £500-an-hour legal firm Gatehouse Chambers.

A source claims talks of a show with Netflix for David have now evaporated (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)

The uncomfortable moment with Gemma saw her offering a motivational talk before a trial, adding: ‘We all need to eat tonight.’

‘You know what I’m like without food.’

David then chimed in: ‘You need to eat? Where was you last night? And where was I last night. What did I eat last night?’

After pausing for a beat in the tense exchange, Gemma replied: ‘Do you know what? Sometimes, eating a bit of humble pie makes us stronger and better as people.’

‘It does,’ agreed David, prompting Gemma to smile and add: ‘I know you’re gonna bring it back today.’

He also backed up Jimmy Bullard during the finale in his demands that Jimmy’s full row with Adam be aired after the former footballer accused ITV’s edit of not giving a fair or accurate representation of how their argument on the show went down in reality.

He was accused of fat-shaming Gemma Collins during their time together in South Africa (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock) She jokingly held back both David and Jimmy Bullard during Friday’s chaotic live finale as both had arguments to make (Picture: Jonathan Hordle/ITV/Shutterstock)

However, host Ant McPartlin responded by rejecting that characterisation, stating he did not agree with Jimmy’s account and that Adam’s language had been ‘un-broadcastable’ due to his use of C-bombs.

Jimmy also described Adam’s conduct during their argument on the show – pre-filmed in South Africa last year – as ‘abusive, aggressive and intimidating’ nine times, which is said to be a key phrase used in the celebrities’ contracts for the show to define unacceptable behaviour.

He too is thought to be pursuing legal action against ITV and used Friday’s live All Stars final to gather evidence, according to sources.

On Tuesday night, David shared a video to his Instagram studio, saying: ‘Quick question ladies and gentlemen, cos I’m still kind of confused about the last couple of weeks. Do let me know whether, off the strength of watching I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! 2026 Legends edition, you think I’m a bully?

David has been canvassing fans for their opinion on his behaviour (Picture: Instagram/@davidhaye)

‘Would you consider that yes, I’m a bully, or no, it was banter, and it was all good? Very interested to know the numbers cos I’ve asked a few questions and from the responses I got it seemed like I was in a massive minority thinking that my behaviour was correct?’

When the initial response showed the vote was almost evenly split, with 52% of respondents thinking David was not a bully, he wrote: ‘At least half the people have some sense!’

Two hours later when it showed 77% of people thought he in fact was, the former world heavyweight champion added: ‘So much for the sensible people!! Is the world truly that full of sensitive morons?!?’

Metro has contacted reps for David Haye and ITV for comment.

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