Tony Bellew enjoyed a sweet reunion with his family after finishing in second place in Sunday night’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here finale.

The champion boxer, 41, was given a hero’s welcome at the Marriott Gold Coast Resort as he arrived with his wife Rachael, 40, and their children Corey, 18, Cobey, 15, Carter, 11, and Carson, three.

Carrying his youngest son in his arms, Tony looked overwhelmed as he made his way inside, where the rest of the year’s cast were waiting.

Still dressed in his jungle outfit, Tony held on tight to Carson, who along with his brothers was given permission to be absent from school in Liverpool to fly out to Australia to greet their dad.

Tony Bellew enjoyed a sweet reunion with his family after finishing in second place in Sunday night’s I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here finale

The champion boxer was given a hero’s welcome at the Marriott Gold Coast Resort as he arrived with his wife Rachael and their children Corey, 18, Cobey, 15, Carter, 11, and Carson, three

‘When Rachael appeared in the jungle it broke me for a good ten minutes,’ he admitted. ‘I wanted to walk out and leave with her.’

‘She told me I couldn’t. It would have been such a disappointment for the kids. It broke my heart to leave her again. But I was going back to Sam! He’s an amazing person. Anyone who doesn’t love him hasn’t got a soul.’

Tony explained how a friend persuaded him to sign up to the show in the first place as he insisted he isn’t a celebrity.

‘I’ve got a close friend called Mike. Mike talked me round to go in there. Nobody really knows me. I wasn’t bothered. I wasn’t sure if people would like me. My persona is I’m a maniac who punches people in the face.’

Carrying his youngest son in his arms, Tony looked overwhelmed as he made his way inside, where the rest of the year’s cast were waiting

‘Truth is I’m a normal person, you’ve just seen me and people like me for me.’

Former Made In Chelsea star, Sam, 31, has been the bookies’ favourite to win for the past couple of weeks and stormed to victory as he was crowned during the live finale.

Tony wasn’t too disappointed to have finished second as he felt his new friend was a more than worthy winner.

He said: ’10 days ago, I knew. I knew when I first met him, I’ve never met a person like him… He deserves it more than anything and I couldn’t be happier.’

Tony admitted he had found life in camp ‘very, very difficult’ so was thankful for his friendships with Sam and JLS singer Marvin Humes.

Still dressed in his jungle outfit, Tony held on tight to Carson, who along with his brothers was given permission to be absent from school in Liverpool to fly out to Australia to greet their dad

Sunday night’s final saw Tony’s close friend Sam Thompson beat him to the King of the Jungle title , with Nigel Farage finishing in third place

Tony has revealed that one of the hardest moments during his jungle experience was when his wife made a surprise visit to camp on Friday

‘When Rachael appeared in the jungle it broke me for a good ten minutes,’ he admitted. ‘I wanted to walk out and leave with her’

Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Monday morning Tony admitted he went through a tough time in the jungle

‘It’s a dream come true!’ Sam Thompson’s joy after I’m A Celeb win

He said: ‘You’re alone with your own thoughts and my mind isn’t the best, it wasn’t easy. It was very very difficult and you think to yourself, “What am I doing here?”

‘I definitely think I was put here to be around Sam and get to know him, Marvin was a huge part of it as well, I can’t believe he’s not sitting here.

‘Everyone was amazing… I know this is called I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! but I’m not one of them, a celebrity, and no one felt like a celebrity, they were just normal.

‘It’s the first time in my life I’ve sat with a bunch of strangers and just thought, “You’re all sound people”.’

Tony’s wife Rachael has been staying at the Marriott Hotel in Surfers’ Paradise for the past week, while looking after her four sons.

The mother-of-four told MailOnline last week that ‘the school was so supportive of them coming out.

Sam and Tony had struck up a close bond while living in the jungle together

Sam received a hero’s welcome as he arrived back at his luxury hotel in Surfer’s Paradise on Sunday after winning I’m A Celebrity

She explained: ‘Well, I sent Tony in to speak to the headteacher because I said, “This is your thing, so you’re doing it” and the head was completely fine with it and said to Tony, “Hey, go and enjoy yourself.”‘

Childhood sweethearts, Tony and Rachael are both from the Toxeth area in Liverpool and met 22 years ago at the nightclub he was bouncer to – this is the longest they have ever spent apart from one another.

Tony arrived in the jungle five days after the other celebrities with the jockey Frankie Dettori, who was the first to leave the show and has since won the heart of the public with his no-nonsense manner and consistent calm in the camp.