Tony turned round to find Sam behind him, and then he wrapped his arm around him, saying: ‘Some things never f****** change do they?’

Sam shouted, ‘Tony Bellew! Tony Bellew!’ while Tony licked his finger and stuck it in Sam’s ear.

Sam Thompson was thrilled to be reunited with his new pal Tony Bellew during a night out in Liverpool on Friday

The I’m A Celebrity winner, 31, was seen hugging the boxer, 41, from behind, which was a common sight in the Australian jungle

Sam was crowned King of the Jungle, beating heavyweight boxer Tony Bellew to the title.

The ITV final was watched by a peak audience of 7.6million and the series has reached over 25million viewers including across streaming platform ITVX.

Sam was congratulated by his co-stars including This Morning host Josie Gibson who presented him with the floral jungle crown.

Sam won the 2023 King of the Jungle title on Sunday by a landslide, voting figures revealed.

He came out on top with over 50 per cent of the votes, beating boxer Tony Bellew, 41, who finished in second place and Nigel, who came in third.

Sam was supported in Australia by best friend Pete Wicks, who had flown out to greet him in the jungle while Zara remained at the couple’s home in London.

She had previously explained to fans of the show that she wouldn’t be in Australia due to her stint on Strictly Come Dancing.

‘Pete is going. We’ve had a few laughs and jokes about this,’ she explained in an Instagram post.

Sam was crowned King of the Jungle, beating heavyweight boxer Tony Bellew to the title

Zara was reunited with Sam as he returned to the United Kingdom with best friend Pete Wicks after being crowned the winner of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

‘But in all seriousness; Sam thought I was still going to be in Strictly (bless him, the optimism), so Pete cleared his whole diary for 2/3 weeks to be there.’

It comes after Sam’s girlfriend Zara had concerned her Instagram followers after sharing a snap from her hospital bed, but did not reveal what the procedure entailed as she posed with a cannula in her arm.

Alongside the selfie, she wrote: ‘Had a little procedure done yesterday! Now ready for a super chilled Xmas.’

The TV personality also celebrated her 27th birthday on December 14, after being reunited with Sam as he returned to the UK.