I’m A Celebrity viewers slam Ant and Dec’s Stephen Hawking joke as ‘extremely distasteful’

The presenting duo performed a sketch after learning of Scarlett Moffatt’s time travel theory
Ben Travis17 November 2016

I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here presenters Ant and Dec have come under fire for a joke made about Stephen Hawking.

The pair performed a short sketch during the live ITV show in which they ‘called’ Hawking on speakerphone – and had a robotic voice talk back to them.

The gag was in reference to campmate Scarlett Moffatt admitting that she once emailed the physicist with her own theory on time travel.

“Prof, quick question for you – as the world’s pre-eminent theoretical physicist, what do you make of Scarlett’s theory linking time travel to the speed of light, and the co-ordinates of the pyramids?” asked Ant.

The voice replied: “I got the email on my Hotmail account. Sorry lads, it’s a load of old tosh.”

Some viewers were left unamused by the joke around Hawking’s voice, with one labelling it ‘extremely distasteful’, and another saying it was ‘not cool’.

However, not everyone was upset at the sketch, with one viewer claiming that the presenters’ ‘intentions are never malicious’.

Elsewhere in the most recent episode, Moffatt took on the dreaded eating challenge alongside Carol Vorderman – facing dishes including camel nipples, turkey testicles and more.

I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here 2016

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ITV, 9pm

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