Who is Rev Richard Coles? I'm A Celebrity sign Strictly star and 'secret' music icon for ITV show

He should have a few tales to tell in the jungle and Rev Richard Coles is set to enter I'm A Celebrity 2024 as a late arrival on Thursday night.

Given just how much he'd been linked with a stint Down Under for the new series of the ITV show, it came as bit of a shock that Richard wasn't on the I'm A Celebrity 2024 line-up when it was officially announced last week, before also being notably absent from the first episode, when the show was watched by millions on its return on Sunday.

Talking him up for the jungle, an insider said: "As always, the jungle bosses have cleverly put together a sensational line-up guaranteed to make for compulsive viewing. Rev Coles will have a variety of tales to tell from his wild days as a pop star in the Eighties, through to performing on Strictly and his later life as a man of the cloth."

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While the cat still isn't fully out of the bag on Richard and fellow I'm A Celebrity late arrival, Love Island star Maura Higgins going into the show, it's looking more and more likely they will.

Who is Rev Richard Coles on I'm A Celebrity?

While he is best known these days for being a former contestant on Strictly Come Dancing and a radio host, Rev Richard Coles was 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, which was 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.

Ahead of his arrival on I'm A Celebrity, Richard hadn't made as big a dent in the odds as Maura, with him going into betting as 8th favourite to win, while she was ranked third, behind only Danny Jones and Tulisa.