27 November 2023 , 12:21
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I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star Sam Thompson has been a huge hit with viewers since the series started airing last week.
The former Made In Chelsea TV star is known for his excitable personality, friendliness and love of hugs. While some viewers have criticised Sam for being "attention seeking" and "annoying" at times on the show, others jumped to his defence to remind fans that he was diagnosed with ADHD.
Meanwhile, body language expert Judi James claims Sam's insistence on hugging and fanboying over the other stars is a "fear response". Speaking about Sam's personality in the jungle, she said: "Sam’s sweet insistence on hugging and fan-boy-ing all the alpha males in the jungle (Including Ant & Dec who hold all the real power in there) is looking like a fear response.
"The stronger the signals of impatience from his heroes the tighter he hugs them and showers them with praise. He seems to worry that if he’s not in their close circle he’s in some kind of rejection or outer circle danger, so hopefully Fred and Tony in particular will spot this and treat him gently rather than acting out any of their inner irritation."
Sam has been a huge hit with viewers (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Speaking to Paddy Power Games, she added: "When Sam placed his smaller ‘paw’ onto Tony’s for comparison it looked like a signal of respectful submission to the bigger, stronger animal. But then Fred jumped in to tell Sam he should ask Tony to knock him out. It was a joke, but Sam only declined because he worried, he’d have to leave the jungle if he did."
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Over the weekend, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly made their feelings about Sam's positivity clear as Ant said: "At least the trial went well. It delivered the ultimate prize for camp, the one thing they value more than anything." Dec interjected: "Food!" But Ant continued: "No, an hour without being hugged by Sam. That would have been bliss.
Sam's insistence on hugging and fanboying over the other stars is a 'fear response', a body language expert has said (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)"You see, he is a nice kid and all that, he is a nice kid but the hug is too much. I wouldn't like that, that's too much for me. Back off." Fans at home weren't impressed with Ant's comment as they took to social media to share their thoughts. One said: "Sam’s gonna come out the jungle and see ant and dec taking the p**s out of his hugging and its gonna break his heart."
Another added: "That was a bit mean from Ant about Sam." Someone else commented: "ah, i love ant and dec but don't like the jibes at sam. i'm not a big hugger either but people are who they are." [sic] A fourth wrote: "Ant, i love you, but respectfully, shut up being negative about Sam." [sic]
During his trial, Sam shared his love towards the Geordie duo and he told them they were his "hero". He told Ant and Dec: "I love you guys so much it's all I've ever wanted to do make you proud."