I'm A Celebrity's Ant McPartlin aims dig at star on ITV show as host delivers 'brutal' verdict

Ant McPartlin aimed a rather 'brutal' dig at one of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here's newcomer, Rev Richard Coles by suggesting not many viewers will have even heard of him.

After their names were missing from the official line-up for the new series of the ITV show, when it was released at the start of the week and they were also absent from Sunday's launch, speculation continued to mount that Rev Richard and ex Love Island star Maura Higgins would still play a part in the programme at some point. And fans' hunch that they would end up in the jungle proved to be spot on, as I'm A Celebrity's late arrivals were finally introduced at the end of Wednesday night's episode.

It was then revealed by ITV that, rather than immediately go in as fully fledged members of main camp, Richard and Maura would be starting their time Down Under in a completely separate location and given a 'secret mission,' in a twist that will take their I'm A Celeb co-stars by surprise. It was Geordie hosts Ant and Dec who broke news of the newcomers to millions of viewers who tuned in to watch the latest instalment of the much loved show, before then being asked for their verdict on spin-off Unpacked, which aired on ITV2, right after credits rolled.

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And Ant wasn't too kind about former pop star and ex Strictly contestant Richard, when discussing the two new later arrivals, when he remarked: "More people might know her!"

Richard was actually in one of the biggest acts of the era in the 80s, when he first shot to fame as a member of The Communards; the band responsible for mega hit Don't Leave Me This Way - the best-selling single of 1986. The act split less than two years later,. when singer Jimmy Somerville went solo.

After being ordained in 2005, Richard held down a number of important roles, including being the chaplain of the Royal Academy of Music. He officially retired from being a priest in 2022.

In 2017, Richard hit the dancefloor on hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing, being one half of the second couple to be voted out of that year's series, alongside pro Dianne Buswell. Sticking with TV, Richard was a guest host on Countdown in 2022 and last year, left Radio 4's Saturday Live programme, due to the programme's relocation to Cardiff.