GRACE Dent slammed I'm A Celebrity in a brutal rant over "animal cruelty" and "starvation" - 11 years before signing up for a spot on the show.
The top food critic, 50, was this weekend confirmed for I'm A Celebrity's 2023 line-up and has since been spotted arriving Down Under.
Previously, northerner Grace also dubbed I'm A Celeb "televised constipation" - before breaking her silence on the no-frills comments today.
In an opinion piece written for the Independent in 2012, MasterChef star Grace ranted about the ITV reality series.
She wrote: "Let's be frank, I'm a Celeb, love or hate it, is far from a deluxe viewing experience.
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"It is a puerile venture into starvation, televised constipation and animal cruelty, abbreviated by ads for Iceland £1 curries."
Later on, she added: "I snap my blinds firmly shut before settling down to watch I'm a Celeb, in fear that the theme tune alone devalues my property."
But despite her blunt views, it appears she is just like the rest of us when it comes to getting hooked on the jungle drama.
In the piece, she conceded: "Yet, invariably, I do watch. The buzz about contestants such as the [former] Tory MP Nadine Dorries becomes so heady that it's quite impossible not to take a peek, to see if she has been locked in a coffin and gnawed by rats.
"We all need our big dumb fun somewhere."
Despite being critical of the show, Grace today said has always been a fan of the jungle programme.
She said: "I mean I've made jokes about everything because that's what I do.
"Like Big Brother, and soap, I always did that from the place of someone that really loved them, and really watched them."
The chef said she has also been dining at luxury restaurants eating five course meals ahead of jungle life.
She told The Sun after landing: "My flight was amazing, I feel very well rested. I've eaten very well. I've been stocking up on a delicious tastes because I'm wondering when I'm gonna taste them again."
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An insider has also told The Sun: “Masterchef fans know Grace for her withering put-downs of contestants’ food and disdain for anything less than stellar cooking.
“But she’ll be eating humble pie in the jungle, surviving on rice and beans and taking part in Bushtucker trials.”
Grace is a regular critic on MasterChef UK, MasterChef: The Professionals, and Celebrity MasterChef, and has also judged food on the BBC’s Great British Menu.
Grace has a wealth of experience on a variety of TV shows, not just about food.
Outside of the kitchen, she has appeared on Very British Problems, Pointless Celebrities, The Apprentice: You're Fired, Have I Got News For You, The Now Show (Radio 4), The Review Show Film 2012.
She has also been on The Culture Show, Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe and Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled.
