ITV I'm A Celeb star Reverend Richard Coles's surprising health diagnosis after medical for TV show

Richard Coles is set to enter the I'm A Celeb jungle tonight - and all eyes will be on him as a latecomer with Irish presenter Maura Higgins. But who exactly is the star joining the ITV camp?

Richard first rose to fame in the 1980s as one half of the band the Communards, hitting number one with their dance version of Don't Leave Me This Way. He went on to become a vicar and has appeared regularly on TV shows including QI, Would I Lie to You? and Have I Got News for You.

He also co-hosted BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live programme. But what about his life away from his work?

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Below we look at his health battles, why he stepped down from parish duties with the church and his love life including the heartbreaking loss of his husband.

Why Richard Coles retired as a vicar

Richard retired as vicar of Finedon in 2022. He announced that he had retired from parish duties due to the Church of England allegedly increasingly excluding gay couples, and what he described as its "conservative, punchy and fundamentalist" direction.

Looking back on his time as a "half-time vicar", he also pointed to his celebrity career as a reason for standing down. He said: "'How do you do all the things you do?' I am frequently asked, and the answer is by neglecting important things and disappointing people.

"I was once called in the middle of the night to attend a parishioner's deathbed and I could not because I was in Glasgow doing Celebrity Antiques Road Trip. I found someone to cover, but it should have been me."

Explaining his role in the church now, he said: "I will still be a priest, I will always be a priest, and I will minister where I am able."

Richard Coles's surprising health diagnosis

Richard has spoken openly about some tough health battles over his life, both mental and physical. He revealed he had had a mental 'crisis' following his coming out, which ultimately led to him attempting suicide and being diagnosed with clinical depression.

He once received a surprising diagnosis after undergoing a medical before taking part in Strictly Come Dancing. He said: "I have arthritis in both knees and tinnitus in my ear. The arthritis came up when I did my Strictly medical but I had already suspected all was not well.

“My knees were creaky and I had pain sometimes. My right knee in particular doesn’t like going up and down stairs. Now I’m trying to do a bit of cycling to keep them flexible.”"

The tinnitus came on out of the blue in his 40s, and Richard has put it down to performing loud pop music in his youth. He said the 'very frustrating' condition can sound "like something from the National Grid kind of powering through your ear".

Speaking about the condition - which is where people can hear sounds with no external source - he said: “It is very common for people who worked in pop music to end up with tinnitus in their 40s and 50s. It’s like a constant whistling in my ear, more on my right side.

“It has different levels of intensity but I’m quite good at not noticing it unless I’m very tired or run-down.”

Richard Coles's love life and tragic loss of husband

Richard entered into a civil partnership with partner David Oldham, who was also an Anglican priest, in 2010 after dating for three years. David heartbreakingly died in December 2019, with Richard later stating that his death was linked to alcoholism.

Richard opened up on the grieving process in his 2021 memoir, The Madness of Grief, and 2022 Channel 4 documentary. He shared how David suffered with liver disease and revealed the heartbreaking time he found his husband in the guest room with a bucket of vomit and blood.

Richard immediately phoned an ambulance and David was rushed to hospital, but he died days later. Speaking after the loss he said: "I wish I’d spent more time with David. I wish I’d prioritised doing nothing with David more. Not seeing that as a holiday from things, but as the centre of things."

He later confessed the continued impact his death has had on his life, saying: "I’m completely f***** up about it still. It messed my f****** life up. And I have this anger. I’m angry when people speak in a way that means they think you should be over it. It’s not a cold.”

In an interview with the Sunday Times last year, Richard revealed he had found love again through online dating as he started a relationship with actor Richard Cant.