Grace Dent recalls frightening cockroach incident as she speaks out for first time after I’m a Celeb exit

The restaurant critic and Masterchef UK star suddenly left the reality TV show on Monday

Restaurant critic Grace Dent has said she is “overwhelmingly sad right now” following her early exit from I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! on Monday.

ITV said that Dent had left the show on “medical grounds”, after fans noticed that she looked visibly upset during her final episodes on the show.

The former Masterchef UK star has now shed light on one of the grisly incidents that forced her to leave the jungle, recalling the moment when a cockroach found its way into her ear canal following the “Scarena” trial, which involved wearing an American football-style helmet filled with insects.

“For as long as I live, I shall never forget the cockroach that entered my ear canal and the sound of its little feet creeping closer down to my brain,” she wrote in an Instagram post shared on Thursday (30 November).

“It took us two goes to lure him out. Sat on the grass behind the ‘Scarena’ he finally washed up.”

Addressing her exit for the first time, she wrote: “Thank you for the outpouring of love I’ve received since I was removed on Monday.”

“I am overwhelmingly sad right now, but determined to keep alive in my heart the huge personal breakthroughs I made over the weeks.”

She said that the conditions that the celebrities were kept under – no phones or contact with loved ones, living outdoors and in wet weather – gave her a “short, sharp glimpse into the pain some folk worldwide endure”.

Dent added that her time in the jungle showed her that she was “stronger” than she initially thought.

“I can carry a lot of logs and water up hill, build fire and eat hare innards at dawn for breakfast.”

She continued: “I didn’t cry when I took off my bra to find a family of mealworms living in the right cup. At some level, this *must* be an achievement.

The restaurant critic added that her plan was to “recover” following her 15 days in the jungle.

“And when the adrenaline finally ebbs away, to make some serious plans for dinner. Three courses, extra potatoes, definitely pudding. I think I deserve it,” she said.

Dent receiving medical attention during the cockroach incident (I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, ITV)

A spokesperson for the show told The Independent on Monday: “Unfortunately Grace Dent has left the show on medical grounds. She has been a great campmate and will be missed by her fellow celebrities and viewers alike.”

Dent had previously expressed her desire to quit the show during Sunday night’s episode, telling the camera: “I just want to go home”.

Grace Dent on ‘I’m a Celebrity’ (ITV)

After her participation was officially confirmed, ahead of the season premiere on 19 November, Dent told ITV she was “filled with a real sense of dread” at the prospect of being dropped into the Australian jungle.

“Everything is filling me with a real sense of dread,” she said. “But I am especially dreading being really hungry because I tend to eat four or five posh meals out a week because I am a restaurant critic.

“I know they are going to give me an eating trial and I am dreading putting even worse things in my mouth than I have in the past in fancy restaurants! I think I will be writing very stiff columns about the jungle food when I come out!”

I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! airs Sunday to Friday at 9pm and Saturday at 9.30pm on ITV.