Calum Best left Celebrity Big Brother last night (January 31), which must have been something of a relief, as he revealed he was suffering from a "terrible ear infection" during his stay.
Talking to Emma Willis after his eviction, Calum said he was "upset" about leaving so close to the final on Friday (February 3), but it was his illness that got us feeling for him...
"I think the whole experience was starting to drain me and I was exhausted by the past few days," Calum said.
"We had a task and people were telling me for the past two weeks they hadn't seen me as I'd been so boring."
Last week (on Day 23) in the CBB house, Calum was seen explaining to Spencer that he was feeling unwell, after Spencer asked: "You've been, like, sober for two nights in a row."
"I've been ill. That's why I've been on edge. I'm sick," Calum replied, with Spencer asking, "The ear thing?"
"Yeah, I'm not trying to show it. I just want people to respect it," Calum said.
However, he explained in his exit interview: "I couldn't [tell them] that for the past eight to ten days I had an ear infection that was killing me and I wanted to sleep it off.
"They obviously don't show those kind of things but it was wrecking me," he added. "I felt if I wasn't aired I wasn't getting much time. So that started to frustrate me and play on my mind."
Emma also quizzed him about the last few days where he was seen to lose his cool, mostly with Jedward.
"Jedward, bless them, they are so good in so many ways but at points when I'm trying to sleep at two in the morning and they're singing at the top of their lungs.
"I don't want to give anybody grief but there's a few times you start saying… they enjoy themselves but I feel sometimes they don't give that respect back and I think to live in a happy house there has to be mutual respect all around.
"That night I lost it [with Jedward] which obviously didn't work in my favour as I can tell they are very liked. They are smart, they are successful.
"I can tell by talking to them they run a good business but when it comes to being people, living in a house and respecting," Calum continued.
"I found they lacked a bit of it with me, personally, and I think amongst the house, but overall I can't give them grief as they do well for themselves."
"Well, I did give them grief," he joked.
Celebrity Big Brother continues on Wednesday (February 1) at 9pm on Channel 5, and then the two-hour grand finale extravaganza kicks off on Friday (February 3) also at 9pm.
Left in the house – and now competing to win – are Bianca Gascoigne, Colleen Nolan, James Cosmo, Jedward, Kim Woodburn and Nicola McLean.
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