Model and presenter Kelly Brook – who appears on the new series of Celebrity Race Across the World – once found herself at the centre of a stormy fallout with Britain’s favourite presenting duo, Ant and Dec.

This alleged ‘feud’ has lingered in the background for years. It has even sparked debate over its impact on Kelly’s career in television.

Model and actress Kelly Brook accused Ant and Dec of ruining her career in television (Credit: Cover Images)

Kelly Brook on BGT

In 2009, Kelly was abruptly dismissed from her judging role on BGT just six days into the job.

At the time, the actress felt that her exit was not just a simple case of a poor fit, but rather the result of a clash with the show’s beloved hosts, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.

Kelly later reflected on the situation in a 2009 interview with the Daily Mail. “There was nothing I could do in this country after Britain’s Got Talent. The people at ITV were telling me that I had upset Ant and Dec and that was it.” she said. “I would love to have stayed on the show. I really felt it was working out. Ant and Dec had never been anything but pleasant to my face but, clearly, they didn’t want me on the show.”

The tension between Kelly and the Geordie duo seemed to stem from their differing accounts of her initial interactions with them.

Ant and Dec addressed the alleged feud in their autobiography (Credit: Cover Images)

Ant and Dec autobiography

In their autobiography, the hosting duo claimed that Kelly arrived on set without a proper understanding of the show’s dynamics.

They recounted how she allegedly asked them what their roles were on BGT, suggesting she had not even watched previous episodes.

According to them, this indicated a lack of preparation and respect.

However, Kelly’s recollection of that first day was very different. “For the record, I didn’t go begging for a job on Britain’s Got Talent. Simon Cowell approached me, and I think his intentions were completely honest,” she explained to the Mail. “I can’t remember exactly what I said to Ant and Dec, but it was something like: ‘What will you two be doing backstage on the show?’ Of course I knew what they did on the show.”

However, she dismissed the notion that she was clueless about the show. However she admitted she “hadn’t spent every Saturday night at home watching BGT, but I had seen it”.

According to the former model, she believes that the animosity was more about ego than anything else.

Kelly speculated that Ant and Dec might have resented the idea of another high-profile personality encroaching on their territory.

“Basically, I just don’t think Ant and Dec liked me,” she added. “Their egos are such that they were saying to themselves, ‘How dare she think she can come onto our show?’”

Kelly left BGT after six days due to an alleged feud with the hosting duo (Credit: Cover Images)

Ant and Dec address feud

In later interviews, Ant and Dec downplayed the notion of any conflict.

Speaking to Metro in 2013, Dec remarked: “There is certainly no bad blood from our side.”

He also rejected Kelly’s claim that they were behind her firing, saying: “That’s certainly not the case. I’d be interested to hear the story from her point of view to find out what happened. We were backstage and we saw the situation, but I don’t know… From her point of view, I still don’t know. We haven’t seen her since BGT.”

However, both stars were quick to shut down any possibility of Kelly returning to the show.

“I can’t see that happening,” Dec said when asked.

Declan denied that the duo had anything to do with Kelly’s departure (Credit: Cover Images)

Kelly Brook autobiography

Despite their public denials, Kelly has continued to express her belief that the fallout with Ant and Dec had lasting repercussions on her career.

Kelly’s experience on BGT also wasn’t her only uncomfortable encounter with Ant and Dec. In her 2014 autobiography, Close Up, she described a “weird atmosphere” during her time as a judge on The X Factor in 2009.

“I had such an awful vibe off the producers. I don’t think they wanted me there. My fellow judges didn’t want me there; Ant and Dec didn’t want me there,” she wrote.

In 2022, the model also told Express she would never participate in I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! partly because she’s “not a fan of Ant and Dec”.

In 2022, Kelly told Express that she still is “not a fan” of the presenters (Credit: SplashNews)
“I don’t like spiders, I don’t like enclosed spaces, not a fan of Ant and Dec, and they just do what they do, don’t they?” Kelly declared.

Despite the drama, Kelly has moved on, building a successful career in various other ventures.

She’s currently appearing on BBC’s Celebrity Race Across the World with her husband Jeremy.

Watch Kelly on Celebrity Race Across the World Wednesdays from 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. It repeats Sunday afternoons on BBC Two.

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Source: CNN