Nigel Farage has embarked on a war of words with ITV’s director of television, accusing him of making life “quite unpleasant” and warning him against a “war”.
The former Ukip and Brexit Party leader has claimed since leaving I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! that he was deliberately censored and that ITV reduced his airtime and chose to show him naked.
In a short speech during his return to GB News, he said: “It seems whilst I was in there, one or two people at the top of ITV were doing their best to make life quite unpleasant for me.
“I don’t want to spoil the glow that I have after doing I’m a Celebrity and I have no criticisms at all of the production team or anybody involved in that programme but I would say to you Mr Kevin Lygo, the boss of ITV, it’s up to you mate.
Farage is said to have been paid £1.5m for his ‘I’m a Celeb’ appearance— (Good Morning Britain/ITV)
“If you want to go to war with me, you really can. The last person who did that was called Dame Alison Rose from NatWest bank and look what happened to her.”
His comments come after it is alleged Mr Lygo made a rude one-handed hand gesture while referring to Mr Farage during the ITV Palooza event in November 2023, which was attended by the likes of Susanna Reid and Lorraine Kelly.
Kevin Lygo (left) made the comments during an ITV event in November— (YouTube)
While on stage, he is said to have made reference to a sign language interpreter and said: “I don’t know any sign language, I just know the sign for Nigel Farage.” A report on the event by ‘Media Read’ website said My Lygo ‘circled his fingers in the w***er signal’.
He also said: “Don’t worry, he knows he has to come home from Australia in a dinghy.”
Farage accused ITV bosses of making life ‘quite unpleasant’ while he was in the jungle— (PA)
Responding to this, Mr Farage said: “So I would suggest Mr Lygo that I am prepared to ignore your rude, one-handed gestures, the pathetic attempts by some of your staff to stitch me up.
“I’m prepared to forget all of it if we can call a truce and if you really, really want to go to war with me, I don’t think it will do ITV share price an awful lot of good. So let’s please end the nonsense and let’s do it now.”
An estimated £840m was wiped off NatWest’s share value after Dame Alison admitted leaking information about Mr Farage’s Coutts bank account to the BBC.
The former executive was forced to resign after the “serious error of judgment” and lost £7.6million in shares and bonuses she would have been entitled to receive.
The former Ukip leader has hinted at a return to frontline politics— (Getty Images)
Mr Farage controversially entered the jungle after being paid £1.5m to appear and came in third place after boxer Tony Bellew and reality star and winner Sam Thompson.
His stint on the ITV show has prompted some to speculate he could return to British politics, with reports over the weekend suggesting that some Tory MPs believe he and Boris Johnson could reverse the party’s poll deficit.
In an appearance on Good Morning Britain on Monday, he said: “Never say never. I can’t predict right now what will happen.”
However, he dismissed the idea of returning to the Conservatives under Rishi Sunak’s leadership, describing him as a “lame duck walking”.
“I am looking at a Conservative government that is in total shambles, facing tomorrow effectively a confidence vote on an issue that affects every single living human being in our country, namely immigration on a level that never happened even during Tony Blair’s days.
“Rishi is a lame duck walking and the Conservative party are headed for total defeat,” he said.
Nigel Farage and ITV have been approached for comment.
