Kezia Dugdale: I'll donate part of I'm a Celebrity fee to charity

The former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has promised to donate part of her fee from appearing in I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here to a homeless charity as she defended her decision to appear in the show.

Dugdale rejected complaints from her Labour colleagues at Holyrood that taking part in the ITV reality show was akin to taking a second job, but admitted she would be well paid for it.

Speaking to show-business reporters in Australia for the first time since her participation provoked a backlash from other Labour MSPs, Dugdale insisted the show would allow her to connect with voters.

She said she had set aside three weeks’ salary as an MSP for the Rock Trust homeless charity and not a motor neurone disease campaign as previously thought.

Dugdale launched a @TeamKez Twitter feed on Wednesday morning, featuring a short video clip recorded before she left Edinburgh of her wearing a Rock Trust T-shirt, where she addressed her constituents, and by extension her Labour critics.