Nella Rose of I’m A Celebrity confronted the jungle’s most divisive campmate, Nigel Farage, over his anti-immigration position.
The selection of the former politician and UKIP leader in the ITV reality programme has prompted widespread outrage, with a movement established to get him removed from the show due to his controversial beliefs.
Moments into the new season, presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly took a scathing dig at Farage, 59, while Josie Gibson also attacked his Brexit campaign.
Nella, a YouTuber who has previously clashed with Fred Sirieix, has now addressed the GB News anchor about his right-wing immigration ideas.
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.
Asking Farage if he was anti-immigrant, the 26-year-old continued: ‘So everyone hates you for no reason? Not that everyone hates you, that was so bad. Sorry.’
He responded: ‘You can disagree with somebody, but to chuck around accusations the way they’ve been chucked around is grossly unfair.
‘Anti-immigrant, right? No, no, all I’ve said is we cannot go on with the numbers coming to Britain that are coming.’
Nella continued: ‘I’m one of the numbers?”
Farage replied: “So that’s it then, should it be 5 million a year, 10 million… you don’t seem to understand.”
Tackling him head-on, Nella said: ‘Those immigrants that are coming in, I came in.’
Nella then questioned Farage what was’so wrong’ with immigration, pointing out that they are a ‘wonderful thing’ and had made significant contributions to British society.
Farage claimed: ‘Good thing, unless you want a GP appointment…’
Putting him in his place, she continued: ‘I’m stopping you getting a GP appointment? You’re not getting an appointment because the NHS is lacking funding.
‘I bet you anything if every single immigrant or from immigrant descent was to leave the UK, all your doctors, go… most of your doctors are Asian right? Most of your nurses are African women, right?
‘You want us gone, that’s all I understood.’
While Farage protested, the pair eventually decided to ‘agree to disagree.’
Nella came to the conclusion in the jungle that she’really loved’ Farage and wanted to know why he was generally reviled.
She added: ‘We don’t have to come to a common ground. You probably like a lot of things that I don’t like. And I probably like a lot of things that you don’t like…we can have these conversations.’
Celebrities, in addition to viewers, have attacked Farage’s inclusion in I’m A Celebrity, with Lorraine Kelly declaring on her talk show that she ‘personally believes it is inappropriate’ for him to be in the jungle.
‘I think it’s very bizarre,’ she added and predicted – correctly – that he’d rule himself out of certain trials for health reasons.
Jason Manford has also indicated that he will boycott the series again, having missing it last year owing to Hancock’s participation.
So far, this season has seen a drop in viewership, with the first episode drawing an average of 7 million viewers, compared to 9.1 million for the show’s debut last year.
Meanwhile, Nella argued with Fred from First Dates when he said he could be her father due to their ages – he is 51 and she is 26 – but Nella, who lost both her parents at a young age, was very offended by the remark.
While he eventually apologised profusely, Nella had none of it, telling him, ‘you’re not going to little girl me.’
I’m A Celebrity continues tomorrow on ITV and ITVX at 9pm.
