Grace Dent’s MasterChef co-star Gregg Wallace shuts down popular theory on why she quit I’m A Celeb

Gregg Wallace has spoken out about girlfriend Grace Dent’s shock departure from I’m A Celebrity.

The MasterChef stars have worked together for ten years and he spoke about the drama during the Rose d’Or Awards on Monday evening.

Amid concerns the food critic, 50, struggled with food in the jungle, Gregg mused: ‘Listen, she’s been a guest judge on MasterChef many times and I’m sure she can handle a bit of dodgy food in the jungle.

“I don’t think that’s why she’s gone.”

Yet the former greengrocer (59) admitted: ‘I don’t know why she left. John Torode told me about it. I hope she’s doing well.’

During Monday’s episode of I’m A Celeb, Grace left her campmates in tears with a heartbreaking goodbye note.

Fans were concerned for her after she started looking ‘frighteningly ill’ during her time in the jungle – and earlier on Monday it was announced that she had left the show for good.

On Sunday night, Grace was nominated for the latest trial Down The Tubes with This Morning presenter Josie Gibson, but withdrew due to medical reasons.

She left a farewell message for her emotional campmates in the form of a laminated letter, which was read out by a tearful Nick Pickard.

Grace admitted she believed she had “abandoned” her campmates and said her heart was “broken” after her departure when the campmates found out she had left the jungle for the first time.

The full statement read: “My dear campmates, I am so sorry to let you down. I left the camp for medical reasons.

“My heart is broken, I have loved you and enjoyed getting to know you all. You held me up and it was a pleasure to be your friend through this experience.

“Leaving you all at this stage will be one of the saddest things of my life. I love you all. Your friend, Miss Grace Dent.”

The letter received an outpouring of emotion from her fellow campmates, who sang in unison, “We love you, Grace!” while EastEnders’ Danielle was also reduced to tears.

Marvin exclaimed, “She didn’t let us down,” while Nella Rose said, “She’s like my pillar of strength. My little fairy godmother. As long as she’s happy, I’m happy.’

Later, the group gave a thoughtful toast to Grace at dinner as they enjoyed the meal Josie and Danielle won at trial.

On X, formerly Twitter, viewers were also touched by the note and wished Grace had more screen time while she was on the show.

One said: “The camp mates who spoke about Grace were lovely. It’s a shame she didn’t get more airtime to see that side of her.’

Another added: ‘It’s a shame we didn’t see much of Grace. It sounds like everyone was thinking about her a lot, but we didn’t see anything at all.”

A third said: ‘yeah we didn’t see much grace but the celebs spent all day with her every day she obviously made a big impact on all of them which is so sweet bless Danielle getting mad about it :((‘

However, one commented: ‘Grace said more in that letter than in any episode of this series!’

The food critic flew back to Britain on Monday after seven days in camp, hours after withdrawing from the show’s latest Bushtucker Trial.

Grace had sparked concern among ITV viewers, with many commenting on her thin appearance and pale, drawn skin tone prior to her abrupt departure.

But sources claim her ordeal in the makeshift jungle camp was “a mental battle rather than a physical one, and after a few days of rest and recovery, she will be fine.”

It was revealed on Monday that she had decided to leave after ‘losing all her energy’ at camp and reaching a breaking point when faced with the prospect of doing another Bushtucker Trial.

Within three hours of the announcement, Grace was spotted at Brisbane Airport as she returned to Britain.

The food critic refused to speak to the press at the airport and kept her head down as she rushed through the terminal.

Grace failed to crack a smile as she waited to check in and was seen repeatedly rubbing her elbow as she waited in line.

At one point she was seen using her phone as a mirror after raising concerns among viewers about her ‘unwell’ appearance in the jungle.

She took advantage of the return of her comfort and wore her signature red lipstick.

Grace was dressed casually for her flight, wearing a black tank top and loose-fitting jeans.

After checking in, Grace was taken down the escalator via a VIP entrance by her security team.

An insider has since revealed to MailOnline that Grace’s departure from the jungle was decided by mutual agreement between Grace and show bosses, who intervened after seeing her visible decline in the camp.

A source close to the MasterChef star revealed: ‘Grace decided to leave the jungle shortly after it was announced she would be doing the latest Bushtucker Trial.

‘Knowing that she was facing a new tough challenge was the straw that broke the camel’s back.’

They continued: ‘It was mutually agreed that she would withdraw from the competition, it was clear she was not herself, she had lost all energy, whilst normally she is witty and fun to be around.

‘ITV’s duty of care and welfare teams have stepped in, and rightly so.

‘She had been struggling since living in the camp with fewer amenities, the weather was particularly miserable this year and as a restaurant critic, not eating well proved to be harder than she ever imagined.

‘Grace is looking forward to seeing her loved ones again now and after a few days of rest and recovery everything will be fine.’

Grace has had a tough time since she started her journey filming the Pole Position Trial on Friday, November 24, and last week she threatened to quit the show.

ITV confirmed her departure on Monday with a statement saying: ‘Sadly, Grace Dent has left the show for medical reasons. She has been a great campmate and will be missed by her fellow celebrities and viewers.”