Nigel Farage’s children have said that they’re proud of the Brexit party leader for showing I’m A Celeb viewers who he “really is”.
On Sunday night’s episode of the reality TV show (3 December), the former Brexit campaigner received a letter from his four children: Thomas and Samuel, who he shares with his first wife Gráinne Hayes, and Victoria and Isabelle, who he shares with his wife Kirsten Mehr.
This Morning’s Josie Gibson read Farage’s letter to camp, in which his family said the politician had shown viewers a different side to himself.
The letter said: “To Dad, you’ve achieved so much over the years but nothing has made us prouder than showing people who you really are.
“Why are we not shocked at you effortlessly sinking those dirty pints?” it continued.
During his time on the reality TV show, Farage has been keen to get involved in the grisly Bushtucker Trials because, in his words, the challenges take up “25 per cent” of the air time of each episode.
In his first challenge, the politician – who has reportedly been paid £1.5m to appear in the series – kept a straight face as he tucked into a pizza topped with a cow’s teat and a camel’s udder.
Meanwhile, ITV figures show that during its first episode of the 2023 series, the programme lost 2 million viewers on last year, with many commentators attributing the fall in numbers to the controversy surrounding Farage’s casting on the show.
Farage, who is known for espousing right-wing views on subjects ranging from immigration and has been accused of inciting xenophobia over the years, has found himself involved in several heated arguments with his fellow campmates during his time in the jungle.
First Dates star Fred Sirieix grew infuriated with the former UKIP leader following a chat about the environment, during which he told Farage he was “fixated” on blaming things on other European countries.
This is not the first time Sirieix and Farage have clashed. Earlier on in the series, Sirieix confronted Farage over what he described as a “shameful” 2016 Brexit poster depicting a line of desperate refugees trying to reach Europe under the headline “Breaking Point”.
Sirieix told Farage the poster “demonised migrants”.
Meanwhile, YouTube star Nella Rose confronted Farage over his political views and accused him of being “anti-immigrants”. The pair had been getting along after they bonded during their first Bushtucker Trial but Rose took issue with Farage’s political views.
“Apparently you’re anti-immigrants”, the YouTuber said. As they both stood in the bath area of the camp, Rose asked: “Why don’t Black people like you?”
Farage claimed: “You’d be amazed, they do. If you came with me through south London, you’d be astonished.”
She then asked: “So everyone hates you for no reason? Not that everyone hates you, that was so bad. Sorry.”
Farage 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.”
Rose pressed Farage on the “problem” of immigration and said she was also “one of those numbers”.
She told the former politician: “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 gone, most of your doctors are Asian right? Most of your nurses are African women, right?
“You want us gone, that’s all I understood,” she said.
Farage claimed that Rose was not listening to him, before adding: “We can agree to disagree.”
I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! airs Sunday to Friday at 9pm and Saturday at 9.30pm on ITV.
