Did Kelly Brook Really Upset Ant & Dec Or Is It Just TV Mythology?

Kelly Brook is a British model, actor, and broadcaster. She began her career as a model before moving into television presenting and comedy acting. Her steady presence on UK screens over the last two decades has made her a familiar figure to viewers. Brook built her career through a mix of entertainment work rather than a single breakout role. She continues to appear on radio and television today.

Brook’s work spans film, TV, and radio. Her film credits include Piranha 3D, Ripper, and Keith Lemon: The Film. She has also worked on US television, with roles in Smallville and the NBC sitcom One Big Happy. In the UK, she has appeared on shows like Celebrity Juice, panel programmes, and various reality series. Brook’s radio work includes hosting on Heart, where she became a regular voice for the drivetime audience. This range of roles shows how she has moved between genres and platforms with ease.

Yet one part of her career still attracts attention: her brief time on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009. Brook joined Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, and Piers Morgan as a fourth judge. After one week, the production removed her from the panel. ITV said the decision was due to the format becoming “too complicated” with four judges. But the story did not end there.

Reports later suggested tension between Brook and I’m A Celebrity hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly. In their 2010 memoir Ooh! What a Lovely Pair, Dec wrote about Brook’s first days on Britain’s Got Talent.

He recalled trying to reassure her before filming, then being caught off guard when she asked, “‘And what do you do on the show?’” Dec added, “I don’t want to sound like an egomaniac, but the last person who said, ‘And what do you do?’ was the Queen when I met her at the party for ITV’s 50th anniversary.”

The hosts also wrote that they did not understand why a fourth judge had been added. “Obviously, as hosts of the show, we have to justify that kind of thing to the audience, and no one could give us a good reason why Kelly was on board. The simple answer was that Simon, without talking to anyone, had decided it was a good idea. We didn’t agree.” They later said they felt “sorry” for her and were told the decision was not personal.

Brook’s own account has differed. She has said, “The people at ITV were telling me that I had upset Ant and Dec, and that was it.” She also claimed, “Ant and Dec had never been anything but pleasant to my face, but clearly, they didn’t want me on the show.”

Whether this counts as a feud remains open to interpretation. But signs point to the tension easing. When Brook leapt from the helicopter on I’m A Celebrity this year, she shouted, “Ant and Dec I’m coming for you!” The moment suggested the long-running issue may now sit in the past.

Source: Cosmopolitan