How a Deal Or No Deal special turned acrimonious

Noel Edmonds’s jungle-mates might expect some testy exchanges on  I'm A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!, if the experiences of comedians who took part in a special edition of Deal Or No Deal are anything to go by.

Back in 2012, Channel 4 made a celebrity version of the show with Jimmy Carr as the contestant. 

But – according to Nick Helm, one of the box-openers – Edmonds alienated the comics involved, mocking their jokes and teasing one for being overweight. Eventually that comedian had enough of Edmonds’ attitude to him and his colleagues and raged to camera:  ‘All right Noel, we’ve had it with you - you are not a very nice guy and you have a real problem.’ However, none of the host's provocations made it to air, making it look like an unjustified outburst.

The extent of the uncomfortable weirdness that pervaded the taping was revealed by Helm,   during the Fubar radio show he co-hosts with Nathaniel Metcalfe.

'Noel's been horrible to all of us at some point,’ he told guest Lucy Porter as he recounted the day. ’It was jaw-dropping the things Noel was doing that he knew wouldn’t make it on air, crazy stuff.’

Explaining that most of the anecdotes would have to be kept for off-air, he said: ‘Noel Edmonds was absolutely insane, he would say some of the most offensive stuff to us as guests.’

He especially revealed the discomfort of Jimmy Carr when the production team put up an image of Family Guy's hypersexual character Quagmire.

'Basically, the joke is that Jimmy Carr looks like Quagmire,’ Helm continued. 'I don't know whether Jimmy Carr gets it a lot, he didn't really know how to react, he didn't want to lower himself to actually respond to the joke …

'Noel says, "The Banker seems to think you look a little bit like Quagmire"’.'

Quoting the cartoon sex pest's catchphrase, Carr then 'turns round and says [deadpan], "just tell The Banker: "giggedy, giggedy"'

At which point, according to Helm, Edmonds 'slides right up to Jimmy Carr, and with little cat paws goes "a giggedy goo" 

‘And Jimmy Carr turns round to Noel and goes: "Creepy Noel. Real creepy."’

Perhaps that explains why when 8 Out of 10 Cats did a Deal or No Deal mash-up the following year, hoping to emulate the similar Countdown hybrid, it did not feature Carr and Edmonds together. Carr was installed as host and Edmonds was conspicuously missing apart from a pre-credits sketch, supposedly having run off with the £250,000 box to spend on a shirt. 

The exchange can be heard on the Fubar Radio podcast from Helm and Metcalfe’s programme.

Published: 13 Nov 2018