Jimmy Bullard is the first to leave the I’m A Celeb jungle in a shocking public vote result

Jimmy Bullard in his ITFC days

Jimmy was a strong favourite to be crowned this year’s king of the jungle, with one Ladbrokes gambler wagering £10,000 on his success.

However, his chances of victory were severely hit after a bad-tasting “banter” session on Saturday night’s show with X-factor heartthrob Jake Quickenden which left viewers branding him a “bully” on social media.

The surprise eviction has caused uproar on Twitter, with viewers tweeting messages saying: ‘Gutted @jimmybullard has gone! What’s the point in watching it now?’, and ‘Why is Jimmy Bullard the first one out of I’m A Celebrity? Has this country lost its sense of humour?’

The chirpy camp jester said he was “gutted” to get his marching orders from the show after just 17 days, having failed to win over the public voters.

He joked: “I thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m going to stay mates with all of them, well unless they all delete my number.”

Jimmy lost out in the public vote against motorbike racing legend Carl Fogarty, television personality Melanie Sykes and rapper Tinchy Stryder.

He admitted that he had struggled with a lack of sleep but said being surrounded by people was “a buzz” which reminded him of a football team dressing room during his playing days.

He added: “I get it from people 100% and from the show itself, a buzz. First of all I didn’t sleep much and I love my kip. It’s the buzz of the whole thing and definitely the people around me.”

Jimmy’s early dismissal was a shock to bookies, who said it would have been costly for punters as he had been one of the early favourites to win the whole series.

Bookmaker Coral said he was 9-1 to be evicted against 7-2 to win before being sent off on last night’s show.