TEMPTING Fortune star Imani Evans has revealed show bosses held a crisis meeting with contestants to stamp out bullying.
The crunch meeting came just one day into the trek amid accusations of intimidation, with producers warning it wouldn't be tolerated as they worked to keep harmony in the group.
In an exclusive interview with Flying Eze, said: “The bullying actually got so bad, not even just the bullying, the intimidation, that it got to the point where the production team had to step in.
“They sat everyone down at the campfire, and they told everyone in a very strict and matter of fact manner: ‘You cannot intimidate and bully in this camp'.”
accused some co-stars of having “no backbone” and going along with “toxic” behavior.
She continued: “I'm not going to stand for it, and that's how bad it actually got that production had to put the cameras down for a minute and actually talk to these lunatics.
“So I was very grateful that the production team did that, and, to be honest, they are incredible with how well they looked after us.
“But as much as they tried, there's no control in people that are completely unhinged.
“So you know, , but they definitely kept a cap on it. Thank goodness to production.”
Flying Eze has contacted Channel 4 for comment.
The reality show, which is hosted by , saw 12 contestants travel for 19 days through the South African wilderness on foot.
Along the way they were faced with the opportunity of enjoying luxurious treats though it came at a huge financial cost.
As the trek began, the total prize pot stood at a whopping £300,000.
But for every temptation the cast gave into, money was stripped from the overall fund, leading to many rows and tense conversations.
Imani believes her confident and sassy personality didn't sit well with some of her co-stars and as a result they immediately froze her out.
She credits her thick skin with helping her through it and got her revenge by targeting her rivals where it hurt: financially, by splashing out on luxuries like air conditioning.
“I actually didn't think that I was going to be treated in the way that I was,” she said.
“I knew that people were going to have their eyes on me, because obviously I've come in there as the glam girl. I got the acrylics on the hair‘s looking cute and shiny. I'm in a cute outfit.
“Of course I know my cast members are going to be keeping an eye on me, but I didn't think that the bullying and the isolation would be as bad as it was because they were telling each other to not talk to me.”
“It's really concerning moving forward, because I'm thinking anyone else who applies for that show, I really hope they've got thick skin because it is intense.
“But one thing about me is I'm determined to not let bullies win. So the only thing that was on my mind, was ‘Imani, they're treating you terribly. We've got to nip it in the bud right now, and it's not going to go down well, girl'.
“I mentally prepared myself like this is going to be crazy, you know. Get your big girl pants on and deal with it. And I stood strong, and after that everyone started being nice to me, which is how they should have been in the begin.”
Imani made it all the way to the end of the competition and walked away with £16,000 proving that she was capable of saying no to temptation.
Last week, she quit the cast WhatsApp group, days before the final aired.
And while she's not sad to see the back of most of her co-stars, some genuine friendships were formed.
Most notably with firefighter Tomasz, 39, who fought her corner when she was being targeted.
She said: “You know, me and Tomasz we bonded from day one when he stepped away from the bullies and came to check on me. In that moment I said, ‘Yeah, you're someone that I have a lot of respect for, because it's not easy to do that', and we've stayed in touch.”
Imani also had only good things to say about host Paddy, who she credits with lifting the dour mood whenever he joined the cast.
“Paddy is such a British icon,” she said. “It was insane to film with him for quite a few scenes. Me and him sang karaoke together at the disco temptation. He just really brought the good vibes anytime Paddy was around.”
