Minutes into the current series of I’m A Celebrity, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly launched an attack on Nigel Farage… I need to get out of here!
The 2023 season of I’m A Celeb began with former MP Nigel Farage, This Morning personality Josie Gibson, and YouTuber Nella Rose doing an unpleasant and hair-raising activity to assist their campmates in winning food.
The politician’s presence in the TV series has sparked outrage, with a movement established to get him removed from the programme due to his divisive politics, despite allegations that he was paid £1.5 million to participate on the show.
Farage also works as a broadcaster on GB News, which Ant and Dec brought up with a scathing remark as they began by apologising to ‘all’ of Nigel’s viewers for pulling him away from his programme while he’s in the jungle.
‘We’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to all of GB News’ viewers’, they said.
They then cracked: ‘Sorry, Keith. Sorry, Linda.’
The Geordie couple, who are infamous for encouraging Farage’s signing during Matt Hancock’s 2022 jungle experience, then made a remark about him’veering off to the right’ while driving himself, Josie, and Nella Rose out of the desert.
Josie addressed the elephant in the room when she saw former UKIP leader Farage at the campground, and she wasn’t the only one who jumped at the chance to make a joke.
Farage was a prominent figure in Brexit, with his party issuing an anti-immigrant billboard claiming that immigration was reaching a ‘Breaking Point’ as part of the Leave campaign in 2016.
The Leave campaign prevailed, and Brexit was finally enacted (though Northern Ireland remains without a government due to DUP reservations over the sea border), and Josie blasted Farage for his involvement in the campaign on Sunday night.
Immediately after meeting, Josie joked she thought I’m A Celeb would be ‘a good idea until they dropped us off in the middle of nowhere,’ adding she was ‘petrified’.
Farage said it was ‘something different, an adventure. It’s a challenge, it’s not going to be easy, but why not?’
To which Josie responded: ‘It can’t be worse than Brexit.’
Farage laughed and said it ‘didn’t take long’ and he ‘had a feeling we’d get a bit of that,’ while Josie insisted she was ‘only joking’.
Viewers at home were also ready to applaud Josie for her dig, empathising with her predicament.
One person wrote on X (formerly Twitter): ‘Winner of #ImACeleb has to be Josie Gibson … Saying to that Farage fella “it can’t be worse than brexit” after meeting him for 15 seconds… Well done Josie’.
‘Not me spitting out my tea after Josie said to Nigel Farage ‘It can’t be worse that brexit’ CROWN HER ALREADY’, another declared.
‘Didn’t have Josie Gibson being the first one to get a shot in at Farage…’, another penned.
Josie Gibson the second she meets Farage: It can’t be worse than Brexit.
LEGEND. 👌 #ImACeleb
— Fiona-Natasha Syms ✡️💗 (@fifisyms) November 19, 2023
Took Josie SECONDS to let Farage know the nations views on Brexit. #ImACeleb
— 𝕲𝖊𝖔𝖗𝖌𝖊 𝕻𝖔𝖜𝖊𝖑𝖑 (@itsgeorgepowell) November 19, 2023
https://twitter.com/Oscar_C_M_/status/1726347548145623338
Josie saying ‘it can’t be worse than Brexit’ to Farage moments after meeting him…absolute icon behaviour #ImACeleb
— Charlotte McIntyre (@CharlyMcIntyre) November 19, 2023
https://twitter.com/napqueen3000/status/1726347283501809718
The inclusion of Farage in the season elicited a strong reaction from the public and celebrities alike, with Lorraine Kelly remarking on her talk show that she ‘personally feels it is terrible’ for him to be in the jungle.
‘I think it’s quite strange,’ she continued, accurately predicting that he’d withdraw from some studies due to health concerns.
Jason Manford has also indicated that he will boycott the series again, having missing it last year owing to Hancock’s participation.
As the series began, Farage, Josie, and YouTuber Nella were dumped into the Australian outback to assist their campmates earn food in the initial tasks.
They had to work together in the sweltering heat to assure the camp’s success in the following tasks, which included ‘much more nasty’ eating trials than previously.
Britney Spears‘ sister Jamie Lynn Spears, JLS member Marvin Humes, EastEnders star Danielle Harold, Made in Chelsea’s Sam Thompson, MasterChef UK’s Grace Dent, and Hollyoaks actor Nick Pickard round out the series’ cast.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! airs on ITV at 9pm
