Yahoo News ITV I'm a Celebrity's Reverend Richard Coles heartbroken admission as husband died aged 43
Excitement is building ahead of tonight's episode of I'm a Celebrity. Reverend Richard Coles has been confirmed as one of the late entrants to the Australian camp this season.
The 62-year-old will officially arrive on TV's toughest entertainment challenge tonight alongside Maura Higgins. The Communard's musician has travelled to Australia from Brazil and is looking forward to see what is thrown at him on the show.
He said: "It’s a tougher gig being the late entrant as you already have some groups forming. And I am nervous of getting in there and not recognising people. You could be talking to the most famous influencer in the world and not know who it is. So that will be tricky.
"I am also worried about how I am going to cope with educating myself on 500 calories a day. Five hundred calories is normally elevenses for me. But at least having been in Brazil and the Amazon, I will be jungle ready.
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He added: "There is both trepidation and anticipation, but I accepted the offer because this is my kind of thing. I do know Ant and Dec too - Dec and I share a love of sausage dogs! We’ve swapped pictures before of our sausage dogs.”
Richard has previously participated on Strictly Come Dancing and he hopes his I'm a Celebrity experience goes slightly better. He said: "Trying to do a Paso Doble was pretty challenging and also deeply humiliating when I attempted it. But this is going to be physically hard.”
He joked his snoring could prove to be a problem for his fellow campmates as he said: "It's a major issue. I hope I don't torment people."
However, he's confident he'll be able to make a positive impression on the other 11 campmates as he said: "I expect I will share stories. I will have to be very careful and self-censor as I go along, but I imagine that it will be very difficult after a while."
Richard has enjoyed a career in the limelight since the 1980s as The Communard had chart success with a dance version of Don't Leave Me This Way. Away from this career, Richard entered a civil partnership with Reverend David Coles in 2010.
However, Richard was heartbroken when David died in 2019 aged 43. He announced the tragic news on social media at the time as he said: "I’m very sorry to say that @RevDavidColes has died. He had been ill for a while. Thanks to the brilliant teams who looked after him at @KettGeneral."
After the post, he received floods of messages of condolences from his followers and friends. Strictly professional dancer Dianne Buswell, who was partnered with Richard in the 2017 series commented: "I am so sorry to hear this. Sending all my love to you rev! My prayers and thoughts are with you x."
Richard has since opened up on the grieving process in his 2021 memoir, The Madness of Grief, and 2022 Channel 4 documentary. Discussing the book in an interview with The Guardian, Richard revealed David suffered with alcohol problems and lost his vicar's licence later in his life. He said: "The great pathos about David, as an alcoholic, was that he was grimly determined to keep his drinking secret. But drinking is a thing that’s very difficult to keep secret. And he failed, spectacularly.”
Richard also revealed how David suffered with liver disease and he found his husband in the guest room on December 13, 2019, with a bucket of vomit and blood. Richard immediately phoned an ambulance and David was rushed to hospital, but he died days later.
Richard recalls finding David's priest collar after his death, which prompted him to reflect on their relationship as he shared a heartbreaking realisation. He told the Guardian: "I realised, suddenly, that in trying to fill my life with as much incident and interest as I could I had neglected important things of home and hearth.
"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." Richard was shellshocked after the tragic loss and regularly shared his feelings on the pain of bereavement.
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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 Richard Cant after they met through online dating
He said: "I wanted to go on a website where I would meet someone who was not looking for a sugar daddy, who was my age, who lived in my sort of world, who I could share my life with."
However, he is still struggling with the pain of losing David as he said: "I’m completely f****d up about it still. It messed my f*****g 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.”
