Boy George doing 'I'm A Celeb' because 'I'm bored of being iconic in the corner'

Boy George has said he signed up to I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! because he was "bored of being iconic in the corner".

The superstar singer still has success decades on from 80s hits such as 'Karma Chameleon' and 'Do You Really Want To Hurt Me' with Culture Club, but said he wanted to update his fame for a new audience.

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Having recently arrived in Australia ahead of the ITV show's start on Sunday, he said: “I watch I’m A Celebrity every year and I had to think long and hard about this.

"But I feel like I am in a very fertile creative moment in my life. I am in a moment of rediscovery of who I am as a person, artist and older man and I feel like I do make a lot of effort to be in pop culture.

“I am bored of being iconic in the corner and if you want to compete in the world then being part of telly is part of that. This is the biggest show on TV and that is why I am doing it. And now I have made the decision, I don’t want to focus too much on what the experience might be like, but my intention is it is going to be amazing."

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The singer, who has also appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox and has been a mentor on The Voice UK, continued: "It’s three weeks without make-up and three weeks is nothing. I have just done seven weeks on tour.”

Boy George, 61, also said he wanted to follow 75-year-old former winner Harry Redknapp's success, saying: “King of the jungle, how fabulous would that be? I want to be the Harry Redknapp of my generation!”

Viewers can expect to hear plenty of singing from the star, who has even promised to release a new song while in the jungle.

He said: “I am going to do impersonations of Shirley Bassey every day. I am going to put a song out whilst I am in the jungle too. I release music all the time. It’s good for people to discover music in a different way rather than through the approval system of radio. I don’t need to be approved by someone who hasn’t made a record."

I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! begins on Sunday at 9pm on ITV.

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