Jacqueline Jossa’s shock ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ victory was the worst result in reality TV history for the bookies, one bookmaker has claimed.
The former ‘EastEnders’ actress overcame the odds to beat off competition from fellow soap star Andy Whyment – who plays Kirk Sutherland in ‘Coronation Street’ – on last night’s (08.12.19) final of the ITV reality show, having once been as big as 16/1 to get the job done in the jungle.
Alex Apati, of Ladbrokes, said: "Jacqueline has caused a huge upset as far as the odds are concerned and thousands have cashed in on her after we put all our eggs in the Andy Whyment basket.
"Corrie’s Kirk looked nailed on to win the show from pretty much the moment he entered and his odds were probably too short to back, meaning punters went looking for better value elsewhere in the betting."
Andy was as short as 2/7 to be crowned King of the Jungle just hours before last night’s final, with Jac – who played Lauren Branning in ‘EastEnders’ – the 4/1 second favourite, followed by Roman Kemp at 10/1.
Following her victory, Jacqueline took to her Instagram Stories to tell her fans she is "absolutely fine" and thank them for their votes.
She said: "Hello everybody. thank you so much for voting for me if you voted it means the absolute world.
"I cannot quite believe it.
"I just want to let you all know I’m absolutely fine.
"It’s been the best experience of my whole entire life."
‘I’m A Celebrity’ winners tend to appear on ITV morning or daytime shows ‘Good Morning Britain’, ‘Lorraine’ or ‘This Morning’ following their victory, but Jac didn’t appear on either earlier today (09.12.19).Jac took part in eight Bushtucker Trials during her time in the jungle, and some astute punters cashed in by correctly betting that would do the most, at odds of around 12/1.
The 27-year-old actress was left speechless after being crowned Queen of the Jungle.
She said: "I have no words. I love everybody there so much, it’s making me feel … I don’t even have words.
"Thank you so much for voting for me, you don’t know how much this means. I love my family so much, I love Daniel [Osborne, her husband], I love my kids, I love my mum, dad, my sister, my best friends, I love you so much."