Reality TV has often proved a must-see for intrigued viewers this millennium - yet the latest I'm A Celebrity finale has explosively upped the ante.

People tuning in to the ITV show for Friday night's climax saw soap actor Adam Thomas crowned the winner, but the decision has not gone down well with some - and saw him targeted with finger-pointing condemnation by fellow contestants.

The channel has been accused of 'good editing' in South Africa to allegedly favour Thomas, who was seen involved in arguments with ex-heavyweight boxing champion David Haye, 45, and former Premier League footballer Jimmy Bullard. 

A furious row broke out as hosts Ant and Dec tried to convene a catch-up panel between the contestants on Friday night's broadcast.

Both Bullard, 47, and Haye levelled claims that the ITV footage of the show had been handily edited to portray Thomas more positively and cutting out angrier scenes in the confrontations they shared.

Such were the tensions that Ant McPartlin, 50, was later seen being helped by a security guard stepping in, amid an off-screen potential clash with Bullard.

The series and last night's row were filmed last September and October but this month's broadcasts have ramped up ongoing animosity between people involved.

Bullard accused ex-Emmerdale actor Thomas, 37, of being 'abusive, aggressive and intimidating' during an furious row in the pre-recorded show last year.

This year's All Stars series was ridden been plagued with bullying rows and controversial spats between feuding Thomas, Bullard and Haye.

During the final, Ant and Dec gave Bullard the opportunity to speak after Thomas allegedly called him the 'C-word' in an explosive clash when Bullard called 'I'm a Celebrity' in one of the trials which left Adam in danger of going home.

The clash became so heated that fellow contestants Gemma Collins, 45, and Sinitta, 62, walked off stage when Bullard went around each campmate to ask whether they thought Thomas's behaviour had been 'aggressive and abusive'.

Ex-Tottenham Hotspur manager and former I'm A Celebrity winner Harry Redknapp, 79, when challenged by Bullard for a response, demurred and stayed silent.

The confrontation finished with Ant telling Jimmy: 'Right, let's leave it there. We'll agree to disagree.'

The hosts, usually implacable, appeared to almost lose their temper at times - with Ant telling both Bullard and Haye: 'You weren't there.' 

Just hours after the finale, Ant suffered an awkward run-in with Jimmy as he headed home alongside his wife, Anne-Marie Corbett.

Ant appeared to laugh off the matter as Jimmy attempted to get his attention, before a security guard stepped in.

Divided viewers shared their different levels of shock on social media, with one saying: 'I absolutely love the drama of live TV but David and Jimmy are EMBARRASSING themselves.'

Another poster went the other way, saying: 'Multiple camp mates who were there have backed up Bullard's claims and have criticised ITV's editing of the footage to hide what happened and protect Adam, but we should just blindly accept what Adam, Ant & Dec say? Not like they would lie to protect their affiliation with ITV.'

Other comments included 'Grown adults', 'Just shows how clever editing can ruin someone' and 'I now need to go watch this series. I need to know what all the drama is about'.

A show spokesperson today said: 'We showed an accurate and fair representation of events.'

During last night's broadcast, Bullard admitted he 'threw Adam under the bus' when he quit a trial that sparked their initial argument.

The former footballer admitted he had to leave for personal reasons and that if he didn't say 'I'm A Celebrity' in the challenge, he would not have received his full pay.

He said: 'Listen, Adam and all of you can be upset with me and I absolutely threw him under the bus, I get it and I'll wear that.'

'But what I don't stand on, is someone being abusive, aggressive and intimidating, I don't stand on that.'

Welcoming Ant and Dec to share their opinion on the matter, Jimmy said: 'You [pointing to the hosts] were there and you didn't show any of that [footage]', adding: 'You didn't show any of the C-bombs, it's a liberty.' 

Ant argued: 'The reason we didn't air the C-bomb is because that is unbroadcastable. I was there and I didn't think it was intimidating. I was there, Jim.'

Haye, who has been accused of 'bullying' Thomas during the show, disagreed with Ant and backed Bullard as he demanded answers as to why Thomas was hurling obscenities at Jimmy.

Thomas hit back, telling Haye to 'let the finalists speak', which received cheers from the crowd in the live audience.

Thomas added: 'I take full responsibility for my actions and yes emotions were definitely running high in that moment.

'I have nothing but love for Jimmy in that moment. I have apologised to Jimmy on numerous occasions and I do take everything that he is saying into account and the only thing I can do is apologise. 

'That is not how I want to show myself off and I have never shown myself off like that before or after that. I do apologise, Jimmy.' 

Haye interjected by saying 'Funny way of showing it' before being told by Ant and Dec to stop interrupting.

The ex-boxer continued: 'I like to say how I see it, I like to keep it real and what I have seen is a lot of editing to make this poor guy [pointing to Adam] the victim so the people will support him.

'We all had banter back and forth, a lot of it was cut out from their side. But I think it is time for the truth.' 

Walking off stage, former pop star Sinitta told the audience: 'Guys, you weren't there - I was there and it was aggressive and abusive, we were shaking.'

Collins, a friend of Thomas, then followed Sinitta off the set, while Bullard shouted in the background: 'You can't be aggressive, abusive and intimating - it doesn't matter if Adam said sorry. 

'I will not take you [Ant] saying it wasn't aggressive, abusive and intimating, you can't say that. Show it, let everyone watch it, let's play it now.'

Ant and Dec wrapped up, saying: 'Right, let's leave it there. We'll agree to disagree Jim.'

Former Red Dwarf and Coronation Street actor Craig Charles, who finished fourth in the series, was later among those criticising the editing of the series.

After the tumultuous show finale, he appeared on spin-off show I'm A Celeb Unpacked, where he said: 'I'll always remember it for tears of laughter, rather than tears of pain. We laughed so much in that camp.

'I'm talking proper belly laughs - I mean, my stomach was aching with the laughter.

'But they didn’t really show much of that - it kind of got sidetracked by the controversy.'

Previous fiery moments that remain in the memory from reality TV this century include the first series of Big Brother, on Channel 4, back in 2000.

One of the contestants, Nick Bateman, became known as 'Nasty Nick' after being caught trying to manipulate fellow housemates' votes for who should be evicted - only to find himself disqualified instead.

Later Big Brother series brought the nation's attention to Jade Goody, who appeared in the third series in 2002 and then later the spin-off Celebrity Big Brother in 2007.

She faced criticism that year for appearing to mock in a racist way fellow housemate, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, dubbing her 'Shilpa Poppadom' and ridiculing her for bleaching her facial hair.

The comments, laughed along with by Jade alongside model Danielle Lloyd and former S Club 7 singer Jo O'Meara, prompted criticism as well as more than 44,500 complaints to media watchdog Ofcom.

Then-Foreign Secretary David Miliband even faced questions about the controversy, while trying to play it down, during his ministerial visit at the same time to India. He declined to comment.

Jade Goody was diagnosed with cancer in 2008 while she was appearing on the Indian version of Big Brother in a bid to make amends for the race row.

After her diagnosis, Jade's cancer spread to her bowel, liver and groin and she died on Mother's Day in March 2009 at the age of 27.

Big Brother has often been described as marking a watershed in more confrontational reality TV series when introduced by Dutch firm Endemol.

At around the same time there were more run-of-the-mill fly-on-the-wall screen shows such as Airport and Driving School - which in turn influenced sitcom parody equivalents such as People Like Us and more successfully The Office.