Thinking of the pressures of living in the jungle, Cici said: ‘You’re in a pressure cooker, things like that will happen.’

Laura added: ‘It’s normal it is just a misunderstanding but it was so awkward to watch. My heartbreaks for him because I know how he would have taken that and he will be so upset if he thinks he has offended her.’

Speaking out: Fred Sirieix’s First Dates co-stars Laura Tott and Cici Coleman have broken their silence on his feud with Nella Rose on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

Argument: The influencer, 26, shocked viewers when she lashed out at Fred, 51, (pictured) for claiming he could ‘be her father’

Tension: She branded him a ‘weirdo’ and claimed she would not speak to him or eat any food prepared by him for the remainder of her time in cam

‘He is just a big kid, its all a big game for him, he will be in his element. He will love being the figure where he gets to look after everyone as well.’

The celebrities have to live on a restricted diet of rice and beans while in the jungle unless they win stars in the Bushtucker Trials, something Laura and Cici reckon Fred will struggle with.

Laura said: ‘He eats double portions I’m not sure where it goes. I feel really sorry for him not being able to eat.’

It comes after I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! viewers have called on show bosses to intervene after Nella’s ‘unacceptable’ behaviour in the jungle.

Fred had been referring to their 25-year age gap but Nella took offence at the turn of phrase because hours earlier she had told the campmates that she had lost both her parents.

A clip of the comment was shown to viewers before their row, prompting baffled viewers to claim that Nella had overreacted and beg producers to step in and speak to her about her behaviour.

Several fans compared the row to the infamous Celebrity Big Brother ‘punchgate’ when Roxanne Pallett accused fellow housemate Ryan Thomas of ‘repeatedly and deliberately punching’ her when he had in fact lightly tapped her arm while playfighting.

Weighing in on Dadgate, shocked viewers shared: ‘Nella is so rude! Her behaviour towards Fred is unacceptable. The show’s producers need to speak to her.’; ‘The producers of “I’m a celebrity” should have summoned Nella to immediately explain her toxic and narcissitic behaviour, in the same way that Big Brother dealt with Roxanne Pallett. It was a golden opportunity to expose gaslighting. ITV has some explaining to do.’;

Interview Cici and Laura defended Fred and admitted their hearts were breaking for him and know he would have been upset at the thought of offending Nella

Drama: Thinking of the pressures of living in the jungle, Cici said: ‘You’re in a pressure cooker, things like that will happen’

Laura added: ‘It’s normal it is just a misunderstanding but it was so awkward to watch. My heartbreaks for him because i know how he would have taken that and he will be so upset if he thinks he has offended her’

‘This is like Roxanne in big brother all over again!!!! Total bully! Producers need to make entitled nella to apologise’; ‘I feel so bad for Nella, but this is not it. I almost wish they didn’t air it and that the producers helped them fix it in private, because he really didn’t mean it like that. #ImACeleb’;

‘Nella is the Roxanne Pallett of the jungle’; ‘Sorry but Nella is giving Roxanne Pallett vibes. There, I said it. Is she quite alright?? #ImACele’; ‘Nella doing a full on Roxanne Pallet. She should be removed immediately, dangerous dangerous character. Poor Fred #ImACelebrity’; ‘Nella giving Roxanne Pallet on Big Bro #ImACeleb’

‘Fred is a very bless guy I dunno why Nella didn’t give him the benefit of the doubt especially after the sincere apology. Hopefully the producers get involved & squash it.’; ‘I haven’t a clue who Nella is but her behaviour is abhorrent. Producers need to tell her that was straight out bullying. Apologise ASAP. Fred didn’t do anything wrong yet he still apologise. Bless him.’;

‘No one deserves abuse but I do think the producers need to re-play the clip to Nella and explain Fred’s intentions, also allow Fred to, and to see why Nella reacted the way she did. Do feel sorry for Fred though’; ‘I’m kind of anxious about the treatment Nella will receive and she’s oblivious, this is one of those moments where I would like the producers to speak to her about the public’s opinions so she can mend fences or just be civil or apologize to Fred #ImACeleb’;

‘The producers need to pattern this Nella and Fred situation, there is no way she should be starving because of this. #ImACeleb’; ‘I need the producers to intercept and put things into perspective for Nella because it’s clearly a really really sensitive topic for her and Fred definitely meant no harm. He even apologised several times. Maybe if she gets an outside perspective she can redeem herself’; ‘Can the producers please arrange for Fred and Nella to do the next task together.  #ImACeleb’.

Fred’s partner – who he affectionately calls Fruitcake, weighed in on the argument as she re-posted an Instagram Story from Fred’s Instagram page that read: ‘Tough watch for some of the show tonight but Fred did us so proud – we know his intention would never be to upset anyone. Keep your head up Fred – we love you.’

An ITV spokesman told MailOnline that producers have not spoken to Nella or Fred about the argument.

Shocking: Fans compared the row to the infamous Celebrity Big Brother ‘punchgate’ when Roxanne Pallett accused Ryan Thomas of ‘repeatedly and deliberately punching’ her

Outrage: Weighing in on Dadgate, shocked viewers hit out at the scenes and urged producers to pull up Nella on her behaviour

The incident comes five years on from CBB’s punchgate, which Ofcom revealed was the most complained about moment of the decade.

Ryan was left baffled and devastated by Roxanne’s accusations as he continually pleaded his innocence after Big Brother cruelly issued him an official warning – despite footage clearly showing Roxanne’s allegations were entirely false.

Roxanne – who later dubbed herself ‘Britain’s Most Hated Woman’ – later quit the show and admitted she was wrong after seeing Ryan’s devastation, which saw him breakdown on a number of occasions in the house.

Ofcom received a staggering 25,327 complaints about the incident.

Nella and Fred’s heated exchange was shown within minutes of Tuesday’s episode of I’m A Celebrity.

In the scenes, the campmates were complaining about the wet weather, with Fred saying: ‘It’s just rain, rain, rain, it’s chucking it down.’

Grace said: ‘Camp to me feels like about day 11 at Glastonbury. Really rainy Glastonbury. Instead of seeing Coldplay tonight, I’m just going to see Fred in his underpants again.’

Fred then tried to offer Nella rice, but she ignored his calls to her.

In the Bush Telegraph Nella explained: ‘Last night after dinner Fred made a comment about him basically how he could be my dad.

‘I took offence to that because one of the first conversations we had together was me opening up about the fact that my dad’s passed away.’

Breaking her silence: Fred’s partner – who he affectionately calls Fruitcake, weighed in on the argument as she re-posted an Instagram Story from Fred’s Instagram page (pictured in 2019)

The post read: ‘Tough watch for some of the show tonight but Fred did us so proud – we know his intention would never be to upset anyone. Keep your head up Fred – we love you’

Fred asked again: ‘Seriously Nella, you should eat, don’t you think? Nella? Nella? Nella?’ as she asked: ‘Right, so why does he keep calling me?’

Fred called again: ‘Nella?’ as the camera cut to Nella in the Bush Telegraph and she continued: ‘I didn’t say anything about it last night because I was kind of just annoyed about it. So I slept on it and I kind of thought about it and I was just like, this is not the kind of person I want to be around.’

Fred approached Nella and said: ‘Nella? Darling? You don’t want to eat?’ to which she replied: ‘Can you leave me alone?’ and Fred answered: ‘OK.’ He went on to ask: ‘What have I done to you?

Nella explained he’d made a comment the day before, saying: ‘You know that my mum’s dead, and you know that my dad’s dead. You know that, right?

‘I’ve come to find out that every time I wanna get creative around the fire, or I want to have something my way, my own food that I am entitled to, my way, you tend to get an attitude, right?

‘So yesterday, when I wanted to burn fat that you were going to throw away anyways, it’s not even something that we needed to survive in camp, you turned around to me, with an attitude and said, ”You know I could be your dad, right?” To me, I don’t care how you said it to me, it’s disrespectful and I don’t want to talk to you.

‘I don’t want to be around you. I only allow people to disrespect me once. You hurt my feelings.

‘I was very upset… you keep trying to speak to me when I don’t want to speak to you. I would rather stay away from you, I don’t want to eat your food, I don’t want to talk to you. We can just live, you live on that side, I live on this side.’

Fred replied: ‘I am so sorry. Can I just say? First of all, I am sorry I’ve offended you. I am unaware that you felt offended. I am unaware that what I said would lead to this conversation, I only said that in a way because I am older than you, I am 51 and you’re 26.’

Nella said: ‘I’m not stupid, you’re not going to little girl me, you’re not.’

Fred said: ‘Nella, it wasn’t like that at all.’

Fred added: ‘Either I made a mistake and I said something and I offended you, I’m really sorry. I’m really sorry you feel like this.’

Nella said: ‘I accept your apology, but in order for us to live in this camp together, I don’t want to eat no food that you’re cooking, don’t talk to me, you stay over there, I stay over here and we can live. I’m good. Yeah. You stay over there. Look at your face, you’re smiling.’

Fred went on to ask: ‘You could have said straight away, ‘Excuse me Fred this is upsetting me.’

Nella said: ‘Can you not clock on the vibe?’

Fred replied: ‘No, because you’ve been sleeping quite a lot so I thought you were tired. If I made a faux pas, unwillingly, unconsciously, I am very sorry.

‘But this was all it was. That’s all it was. If you want to take it to the nth degree and not speak to me anymore, it’s your choice.’

Nella told Fred: ‘You only get one chance to disrespect me. I accept your apology but let’s not be friends. How about that?’

Viewers were quick to brand Nella’s attitude as ‘vile’ while ‘Poor Fred’ quickly began trending on X.

Nella has previously spoken about her tragic past with the devastating loss of both parents plunging her and her older brother into homelessness while she was at university.

Nella, whose full name is Ornella Rose Hollela, previously told her TikTok followers: ‘When you’re an immigrant, have been homeless, lost both parents, family have disowned you, constantly body shamed but God continues to bless you.’

She has opened up on the trauma of her mother Eseho Omolongo’s sudden death in 2016, revealing she died in her arms and describing it as the worst thing that has ever happened to her.

And further tragedy hit Nella when four years later in 2020, her father Kamango Paul Hollela also passed away – leading her to pen an emotional tribute where she spoke of his suffering and pledged to make him the ‘proudest dad’.

Nella, of Congolese descent, arrived in the UK from Belgium at the age of seven with her mother and older brother Albert.

Set on losing her thick French accent, the I’m A Celebrity contestant would watch videos of Ant and Dec while growing up in north-west London to adopt a British accent.

After her mother died unexpectedly in 2016, the council took back the family home from the teenager and her brother, leaving Nella to live at her accommodation in Leicester University or with friends.

Fuming: The influencer shocked viewers when she lashed out at Fred for claiming he could ‘be her father’, branding him a ‘weirdo’ and claiming she would not speak to him

Nella’s father Kamango Paul Hollela then also tragically died four years after her mother. After his death, she penned a poignant Instagram post to him saying: ‘Rest in Peace Daddy.

‘Watching you suffer for the past month has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life but at least you’re not in pain anymore.

‘Gonna make you the proudest dad ever in the years to come because I know you’re still by side every step of the way.’