‘Hate’: Nicky Buckley reveals her side of wild pregnancy scandal

Nicky Buckley has opened up about the scandal that divided Australia and had viewers demanding she be taken off their screens.

Nicky Buckley has opened up about facing a wave of backlash when she chose to carry on working while pregnant.

The I’m A Celebrity star is one of Australian TV’s most recognisable faces, with more than 30 years in the business, including six years as co-host on Sale of the Century, presenting family segments on Good Morning Australia and The Today Show, as well as competing on Dancing with the Stars.

In tonight’s episode of I’m A Celebrity, Buckley talks about how her pregnancy caused a big stir when she was the first woman on Australian TV to wear figure-hugging, slinky gowns that failed to hide her baby bump.

Nicky Buckley opens up about the scandal on tonight's episode of I'm A Celebrity. Picture: Ten

“They were saying that it was disgusting,” shared the star. “That I should be taken off until I’ve had the baby. Then the magazines all ran articles. The newspapers, the radio stations. A Current Affair did a story on it. And I’d be on the cover of the newspaper with the headline ‘Is this woman too big for television?’.”

She continued: “Channel Nine news said they had fax machines jammed with requests from people to get me off the air.”

Despite the huge amount of negative attention from viewers and the media, Buckley confessed that she remained relatively unbothered by all the backlash.

Buckley refused to hide her pregnancy from viewers, instead choosing to wear dresses and gowns that showed off her bump. Picture: Supplied.

“I worked up until I think a week before he was born. if I had that much hate now I don’t know how I’d cope,” she added. “But I must have had some really good hormones going around because I was like ‘Whatever’.”

It comes after Buckley revealed her side of the story behind her firing from Perfect Match.

“My show was called Perfect Match, and then when they brought it back it was Blind Date. That was before I did Sale. And after six months only... I got the sack. They wanted me to come out all giggly and flirty and I’d go ‘Yeah sure’ but I didn’t want to look like a bimbo.”

“Were you like ‘Thank god I’m off it’?” replied Dave Hughes.

“No, I was shattered. I was embarrassed. And when I got the sack I went and studied voice lessons and got acting lessons to get over my fear of what people think of me.”

I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! continues tonight at 7.30pm on 10 and 10 Play.

Originally published as ‘Hate’: Nicky Buckley reveals her side of wild pregnancy scandal