Nigel Farage’s first trial on I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here has been revealed, ahead of the 2023 season premiere on Sunday.
The ITV show hosted by comedy duo Ant and Dec – real names Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly – will return to the Australian jungle for its 23rd season, with a stacked celebrity line-up.
This year’s contestants include Britney Spears’s sister Jamie Lynn Spears, The Guardian food critic Grace Dent, This Morning host Josie Gibson, as well as right-wing politician Farage.
The former Ukip and Brexit Party leader is among this year’s most high-profile signings, with Farage reportedly receiving £1.5m for his appearance on the survival reality series.
For his first challenge, the 59-year-old will be dropped into the middle of the Australian desert, along with unsuspecting campmates Gipson and YouTuber Nella Rose, where they learn their fellow participants are 2,000 miles away on the Gold Coast.
I’m A Celeb campmate Nigel Farage ‘used to dealing with snakes’ in Westminster (Gareth Fuller/PA)— (PA Wire)
The desert team’s mission will be to complete various challenges in the scorching heat which will, in turn, give the jungle team more time to complete their own trials.
This will be the first hurdle to the celebrities earning stars, and food, when they reunite in the jungle.
Farage joked about his bumper payday for entering the Australian jungle, in a short video released after the official line-up was confirmed.
“I normally say ‘no’ but I’m a bit more thoughtful about it this year,” Farage says, appearing to talk to a producer. “Oh god, that’s short notice. To be honest, I’m actually off fishing next week, so [it’s] a little bit tricky in terms of the dates.”
“How much?!” he then asks incredulously, reacting to his proposed fees.
Weeks before the announcement, Farage said he was giving an offer to join this year’s celebrity cohort “very serious consideration” after being approached “several times since 2016”.
“And they’ve always offered me really quite substantial sums of money to do so, and I have always thought ‘No, it’s probably not the right thing for me to do’,” he said, during his GB News show on 30 October.
Meanwhile, Nadine Dorries, the first sitting MP to participate in the show over 10 years ago, predicted that Farage would do “very well” on the show.
“He’s got the chutzpah, he’s got the personality. I think he’ll do very well in I’m a Celebrity,” Dorries said, during an interview on Good Morning Britain.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here launches this Sunday at 9pm on ITV1 & ITVX.
Additional reporting on wires
