Yahoo News Nigel Farage: Who is the I'm A Celebrity contestant?
The GB News star is going into the jungle
I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! included former health secretary Matt Hancock last year, and this year Nigel Farage is going Down Under.
But the GB News presenter and retired politician insists he is going in for very different reasons than shamed Conservative MP Hancock.
We take a look at what Farage has said about going into the jungle as well as his early life, his controversial politics career and more.
What has Nigel Farage said about I'm A Celeb?
Farage, 59, said: “I understood why Matt Hancock did it. He went in here with his reputation on the floor.
"The truth is after the banking issue I raised a few months ago, I was standing up for a million people who had lost their bank accounts, then winning at the TRIC awards, I am going in at a different stage of my career.”
But while the former leader of the Brexit Party insists his career is "successful" at the moment and he is simple doing the reality show to "test myself", he does admit he may not be popular with viewers.
He said: “Given millions hate me, I do expect people will vote for me to do trials!
"My crime was to stand against an establishment view and I was for many years the lone voice saying Europe wasn’t where we should be, so I have been a little bit demonised. I am hoping those who hate me might hate me a little bit less afterwards. But it’s a gamble."
And like Matt Hancock - the former member of the European Parliament is hoping to change the public's opinion of him.
He said: "The idea that somehow the things I represent - mean-spirited, small-minded, nasty, the ‘little Englander’ - all those accusations that have been flung at me over the years just aren’t true. If we can dispel some of those misconceptions, then that will be a good thing too.”
Farage admitted he is scared of heights and is feeling slightly apprehensive about the trials.
But he is hoping to make friends with his fellow campmates.
He said: "I am hoping to have some good times, a good laugh... hopefully can cheer people up when they are feeling down and muck in."
Nigel Farage's early life
Farage was born in Kent and his dad was a stockbroker.
He was a pupil at fee-paying Dulwich College in London and after he left headed to the City where he was employed as a trader at the London Metal Exchange.
Car accident and plane crash
Farage has been in some narrow escapes over the years.
He suffered serious injuries when he was struck by a car in the 80s in a terrifying incident.
He was apparently crossing a road when he was hit by a vehicle and thrown into the air. He damaged his leg and it has been reported that it took months for him to recover.
Then in 2010, Farage was involved in an accident as he travelled in a two-seater light aircraft.
The plane went into a nosedive and crash landed in Northamptonshire, leaving the star with minor injuries.
Cancer
Farage also survived testicular cancer when he was in his 20s.
A few years ago he was in the headlines when he claimed that the “incompetence and negligence of the NHS” almost killed him.
In his book The Purple Revolution he said he was fobbed off and that his cancer wasn’t spotted.
He said his testicle became “as large as a lemon and rock hard” and that when he sought another opinion a tumour was discovered.
Politics, UKIP and Brexit
He was drawn to politics from early on and joined the Conservative Party in the late 70s before going on to leave in 1992.
A year later he became a founder member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), and in 1999 he gained a seat in the European Parliament.
In 2019, Farage launched his Brexit Party, saying at the time he wanted a "democratic revolution" in UK politics.
Broadcasting career and GB News
Farage worked as a commentator on Fox in the US and had a show on LBC, but he stepped down in 2020.
Then two years ago he joined GB News, where he shares his thoughts on what's going on in the world.
Sense of humour
Farage clearly has a sense of humour, recently giving viewers an eyeful as he performed a striptease to Right Said Fred track I’m Too Sexy.
I’m too sexy for GB News! 🔥
pic.twitter.com/cvsXU2239m— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) May 11, 2023
He was hosting his GB News show at a pub and the pop duo were with him giving a rendition of their 1991 hit.
However, they swapped out some of the original lyrics, with Richard Fairbrass singing: “Nigel’s a model, you know what I mean” instead of “I’m a model.”
And as they did it, Farage whipped off his jacket and tie and onlookers laughed.
