Chris Moyles has been confirmed as the first contestant taking part in I'm A Celebrity 2022 after he landed at Brisbane airport and said "it should be nice" in the jungle.
According to The Mirror, the 48-year-old radio DJ posed for photos in sunglasses and was in a jokey mood as he got into a waiting car. Asked if he was looking forward to spending time in Australia, Chris added: "It should be nice, fingers crossed anyway."
Quizzed if he was scared of things in the jungle like snakes and spiders he joked: "There's lots of everything in this country, like sport and beer and I am not scared of sport or beer. So I think I will be alright."
He then added: "I have absolutely no idea what my family and friends would think of me doing a show like I'm A Celebrity. I have never asked them. But I think they would be much more nervous about me doing Antiques Roadshow."
Hosts Ant and Dec said they wanted to see Moyles as a campmate back in 2012 when he was still a huge star on Radio 1. But he said in a radio chat with pal Vernon Kay he would not make a good campmate.
Speaking on his Radio X breakfast show, Chris told Vernon it only hit him how bad his vertigo was when he took girlfriend Tiffany Austin’s niece to Go Ape. "I papped myself and I realised I’m more scared of heights than I actually genuinely thought I was,” he said.
But pal Vernon, who took part in the first Welsh version in 2020, insisted he would have a great time. He said: “I honestly had a blast, and anyone who gets asked to do it, I would say to them now ‘don’t hesitate’.
“Yeah, it’s awful, as in the cockroaches, creepy crawlies, spiders and snakes and all that palaver, but as an experience it’s probably one of the best I’ve ever had in telly.”
Moyles has arrived around 10 days before the start of the series, which is much earlier than usual, but they won't be the only one touching down well in advance of filming.
ITV have asked celebrities to arrive around a week in advance so they can isolate and also be tested for covid. If they were to be unfortunate and pick up coronavirus on the flight over, it is hoped there might be enough time to isolate and still test negative before the series starts.
An ITV source said: "The celebrities are arriving earlier than previous years to isolate and test for covid before entering camp." Other famous faces are expected to arrive Down Under soon. Names thought to be in the line up include 80s singer Boy George, rugby star and royal family member Mike Tindall, and newsreader and Loose Women star Charlene White.
The show, hosted by Ant and Dec, is set to return on ITV on Sunday November 6, a week earlier than normal to avoid clashing too much with the football World Cup which starts on November 21.
* I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! Starts on ITV on November 6.
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