When he enters I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! this weekend, Nigel Farage will be stranded in the middle of the Australian outback before probably being subjected to a host of gruelling bush tucker trials such as eating animal testicles and getting close and personal with creepy crawlies.
The inclusion of the former Ukip and Brexit party leader in the ITV reality show has divided fans – with some even threatening to boycott the series over perceived attempts to “fun-wash” one of Britain’s most divisive politicians.
But according to PR and political communications experts, such strength of feeling could be behind the 59-year-old’s decision to go on the show in the first place, as more and more politicians turn to reality TV to detoxify their brands.
“There are possible wins for an ambitious bloke like Nigel,” said Julian Henry, a respected communications expert who has run the PR for Big Brother for Channel 4, Pop Idol for ITV, and American Idol for Fox.
“He’s unlikely to admit it but he’ll be quietly wondering if the endless humiliation of those awful bush tucker trials might lead to sudden and unexpected cries of support for him to stand as the next Tory leader.
“Or perhaps someone clever like TV producer Mark Burnett [Survivor, The Apprentice] might like what he sees and invite Nigel to front his own reality show, like Alan Sugar. Only this would be a public vote format designed to uncover a new generation of politicians for Nigel’s dreamland of a post-Brexit Britain; call it Making Plans For Nigel perhaps.”
The GB News presenter, who was reportedly offered a record £1.5m to take part in the show, has said he had been “demonised” for standing against an establishment view, and he hoped “those who hate me might hate me a little bit less” afterwards.
“The [Brexit] referendum was a long time ago, there are a lot of young people who don’t know who I am, don’t know what I stand for,” Farage said.
It is a sentiment reflective of our age, according to the experts, who say an era of so-called Trumpian politics has prioritised politicians’ personalities over policies.
“Could you ever see the giants of politics – David Steel, Harold Wilson or Margaret Thatcher going into the jungle?” asked the PR consultant Mark Borkowski. “We no longer look for dignity, decency, or seriousness of purpose in our leaders. We demand only stardust.
“People just don’t trust Westminster. Trump’s popularity was down to the fact that he was beamed into American households with The Apprentice. He became a reality star. Farage is just that sort of person. He’s a great fan of Donald, and he mimics a lot of that political showmanship.”
Farage is not the first politician to go on I’m A Celebrity – last year Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, entered the jungle after he was forced to resign from the government for breaking Covid rules. Nadine Dorries, Edwina Currie and Stanley Johnson have also taken part in the show.
Meanwhile, many television viewers will recall Ed Balls dancing Gangnam style on Strictly Come Dancing, George Galloway pretending to be a cat on Big Brother, Penny Mordaunt mis-timing a back somersault on Splash! and Alan Johnson blaring a Bangles tune on The Masked Singer UK.
“Sometimes it’s that political vanity, thinking ‘if only the public could see me as I really am’,” said Tom Baldwin, a former director of communications and strategy at the Labour party and senior adviser to Ed Miliband.
“It’s often after some form of humiliation or disgrace. Balls had just lost his seat, Hancock had resigned. It’s a modern-day penance. It’s like saying, ‘I’m going to go sit in the stocks and let people throw stuff at me, or walk barefoot to Santiago. My suffering will prove I’m now clean again’.”
The whole thing could be a part of strategy by Farage to take over the leadership of the Conservative party if, as looks likely, they lose the next election, Baldwin added.
“He went around Tory party conference saying he wants to be Tory party leader some day, so maybe he thinks this is some weird route back,” he said. “Farage is enormously popular with 25-30% of the public, and loathed by the rest of them. He’s had a profound influence on our politics in this country without ever having been elected to anything other than MEP. So he could be trying to broaden his appeal.”
And even though reality TV is not without its risks – you are on camera 24/7, and “you’re definitely not going to be regarded as Henry Kissinger later in life” – Baldwin said just showing some vulnerability might be enough to win over some viewers.
“At one point, Hancock actually defied the critics,” Borkowski said. “People said ‘he’s not a bad bloke, is he?’ – forgetting somehow that this is the man who wanted the power of God to choose who lives and who dies during the pandemic.”
Henry echoed this. “These type of reality shows are designed to elicit mockery and sniggers, they like to make ‘celebrities’ look odd, demented and sometimes even sad and lonely. I suspect that many TV viewers will end up pitying poor old Nigel – as they did Hancock – but perhaps he’ll be happy with that because he can happily talk up the ‘younger demographic’ to his Tory chums.”
