Holly Willoughby defends Jack Maynard and says she ‘doesn’t understand’ why he was sacked from I’m A Celebrity

HOLLY Willoughby has asked why Jack Maynard was sacked from this year's I'm A Celebrity - after his racist, homophobic and abusive tweets were exposed.

YouTube star Jack, 22, was revealed to have been ditched from the ITV show last night amid reports he also sent inappropriate messages to a female fan, but This Morning host Holly said she didn't fully understand his exit.

Today mum-of-three Holly, 36, raised the question while she and Phillip Schofield were discussing the reality TV programme with roving reporter Alison Hammond on This Morning.

After the trio acknowledged the fact Jack had used the n-word and homophobic language in tweets as well as viciously insulting his fans, Holly said: "I don’t understand this.

"We knew about these messages before we went in. He apologised. I don’t understand."

However, Alison replied: "There’s more [about Jack] that will come out later. It’s unfair that he has no contact with the outside world."

Having been informed that there was more to the story of Jack's removal than she knew about, Holly appeared to back down and the conversation moved on.

Brighton-born Jack, the brother of singer Conor Maynard, is currently preparing his response to the fresh accusations while travelling home to the UK - and his official Facebook page has been taken down.

The Sun originally exposed Jack for posting tweets that referred to "n*****s" and "retards", plus messages that saw him slamming commenters as "f******s".

Then the online star, who has 1.2m YouTube subscribers, was revealed to have sent inappropriate messages to one of his many thousands of female fans.

It's thought Jack may not be paid his £25,000 jungle fee now he's left after less than 72 hours in the Aussie compound.

Fans have set up an online petition to get him back on the show, suggesting Holly is not the only one who did not understand his ejection from the jungle on Tuesday.

Since Jack's sacking, a defence statement from his agent has been released, reading: "In the last few days Jack has been the subject of a succession of media stories which, given his position as a contestant on I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here - filmed in the Australian jungle, with no contact with the outside world, he has been unable to respond to.

"Since it is only fair that everyone should be aware of any allegations made against them and should also have the right to defend themselves, it was agreed that it would be better to bring him out of the show.

"Jack agrees with this decision which was made by his representatives and ITV and thanks everyone who has supported him in the show this far."

Meanwhile ITV is preparing to unveil Jack's replacement.

Fans have speculated that Conor, Jack's brother, may be unveiled as the new camp mate, while Gemma Collins, Craig Charles and Aston Merrygold are also among the potentials.

Jack was tipped for a romance with favourite Georgia "Toff" Toffolo on the show, though last night she joked about her crush on Tory politician Stanley Johnson.

I'm A Celeb continues at 9pm tonight on ITV.

Got a story? email digishowbiz@the-sun.co.uk or call us direct on 02077824220.

We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.