I'm A Celeb's Nigel Farage admits already breaking pact before entering jungle
ITV I'm A Celebrity contestant Nigel Farage has admitted to already breaking his healthy-living pact before getting to the jungle.
The self-confessed "boozer" has been trying to go tee-total and has even given up caffeine before going into camp in a bid to avoid cravings and stay in the competition as long as possible. But the former UKIP leader, 59, couldn't resist temptation and gave into a gin and tonic on the flight Down Under. He indulged in a tipple while he relaxed on his £9,000 business class Singapore Airways flight to Australia, which he was treated to by ITV bosses.
Farage arrived at Brisbane airport ahead of the start of I'm A Celeb (James Gourley/REX/Shutterstock)Farage, who previously branded the show "humiliating", touched down and posed for photos before leaving the arrivals lounge.
He said: "I can't confirm I am doing it but I might be. I just think there is a big young audience out there that watches the programme which is worth talking to. I have been messing about on TikTok for the last few months and you would be surprised, a lot of young people out there are interested in what I have got to say."
He confirmed he had watched the show last year which featured MP Matt Hancock and said "he might have slipped" when asked if he enjoyed a gin and tonic on the plane. Reports on Sunday said he had gone teetotal and given up caffeine in preparation for the jungle.
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He is the first I'm A Celeb contestant to arrive Down Under (Tim Merry/Mirror Express)
The former UKIP leader said he may have had a little tipple on the plane – despite plans to give up booze and caffeine (James Gourley/REX/Shutterstock)Although Farage was the first famous face to arrive in Brisbane, the full line up now appears to have been revealed and more of the celebrities are expected to jet into Australia in the next 24 hours, with the show starting on November 19.
Other names though to be in the line up include ex-politician This Morning's Josie Gibson, 38, Ex-EastEnder Danielle Harold, 31, First Dates star Fred Sirieix, 51, Made In Chelsea's Sam Thompson, 31, and JLS singer Marvin Humes, 38. The Mirror also revealed how Britney Spears' sister Jamie Lynn, 32, has signed up for the show and other names thought to be on the list include jockey Frankie Dettori, 52, boxer Tony Bellew, food critic Grace Dent, 50, and TikTok star Nella Rose, 26.
The contestants are all taken to separate hotels and apartments on the Gold Coast with chaperones so they stay apart and will then all meet up at the same time at the end of the week once they have all arrived. They will then head into the jungle camp but not before first taking on some challenges.
Executive producer Olly Nash said: "Every year we try to bring new elements into the show, it could be, new trials, new challenges, new areas of camp etc. I can tell you that our launch show this year will have some exciting new elements which we hope viewers will really enjoy...I’m not so sure the celebrities will though!"
Speaking at the start of the week, Farage had insisted he was yet to sign his contract just days before he had been due to fly. At the time he told GB News: "I have an existing Australian visa so if I chose to go there on holiday I could without too much difficulty.
"I’ve thought about [the offer] hard, for the last ten days or so. It’s quite a big decision and quite an unconventional thing for me to do.
"There is a big, young audience out there who don’t really have anyone that speaks to them, it seems to me, about current affairs and politics in Britain. That’s what tempts me, but I haven’t signed a contract… yet."
Before that, Farage has previously said he has been approached for the show but sounded unsure if he would sign up.
Talking on his GB News show in November last year, he said: "Well there's been a lot of speculation over the years about me going into the jungle. It's appeared in all sorts of newspapers.
"I have been approached several times by I'm a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! and I've always ruled it out. I’ve never thought it would be a good thing to do. I thought it's all rather humiliating, frankly. But I suppose you can never ever say never.
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"I’d love to get actually some of your reaction, some of your feedback on whether you think I should be in the jungle, or whether you think we should leave it to people like Matt Hancock."
Bosses will be bringing back the dreaded Walk The Plank entry challenge but appear to have made the trial even harder. The crew have been trialling the brand new version on top of the Focus Building in Surfers Paradise which involves crawling rather than walking 100 metres up in the air.
During rehearsals this week some ‘Guinea pig’ campmates could be seen clinging to a slippery metal pole on all fours as they attempt to edge along the length out into thin air to retrieve a star. If they are filming in the rain or strong winds, it means one slip on the pole could see a celebrity fall off the sky-high game and be left dangling in the air.
Last year in a Walk The Plank challenge Babatúndé Aléshé left Charlene White waiting on her plank for 45 minutes before he quit the challenge because he was shaking so much with nerves. Last year's show was won by former Lionesses footballer Jill Scott.
I'm A Celebrity starts on ITV on Sunday November 19 at 9pm.
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