King of the Jungle faces animal cruelty charge
Celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo has been crowned King of the Jungle on I’m A Celebrity. However celebrations were cut short when the star of Ready Steady Cook was confronted by Australian police after filming was over and charged along with fellow contestant Stuart Manning over the death of a rat. The Australian RSPC has since asked the shows producers to hand over all footage of the pair who beheaded the rat so that they can see whether the animal was still alive when it happened.
The two celebrities have been told that they must attend a court appearance on February 3rd next year. If convicted of cruelty they could both receive a maximum of three years in prison. Officials say that contrary to appearances the rat that was killed was not a wild rat found in the jungle but one of the tame rats the programme featured in its bush tucker trials.
Bosses at ITV have confirmed that the Australian authorities were looking into the incident. The charges now put the future of the show into doubt and will be upsetting for those involved in the programme because this series has been one of the most watched ever, regularly drawing in 8.5 million viewers with the final show seeing 11 million tuning in.
A friend of Mr. D’Acampo said that he was worried about the accusations as he has already been to prison after he was found guilty of stealing a number of guitars from the house of Paul Young in 1998.
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