I’m A Celeb! hosts Ant and Dec have suggested the reality TV show take a break from having politicians in the jungle.
The presenters Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly were asked on Instagram whether prime minister Rishi Sunak would be a potential future campmate, to which Dec replied: "I think we do a year without any politicians."
"Agreed, agreed, agreed," Ant responded, according to the Daily Mail.
ITV declined to comment after The Independent asked the broadcaster about the opinions shared by the presenting duo.
This year, the show was met with the presence of Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage and last year, ex-health secretary Matt Hancock also appeared on viewer’s screens.
After Farage joined the show, many viewers called for a boycott – leading I’m A Celeb to lose two million views.
Nigel Farage on ‘I’m a Celeb’— (ITV)
The reality series is an annual ratings winner for ITV, pulling in an average of nine to 11 million viewers throughout each series.
However, the 2023 premiere had an audience peak of 7.8 million, and an average of just seven million.
Farage, who is earning £1.5m for taking part, entered the jungle claiming he is "a hero" to some people and "an absolute villain" to millions of others.
His time in the jungle has led to fellow campmates questioning his political beliefs on multiple occasions.
Earlier in the series, YouTuber Nella Rose challenged Farage and accused him of being “anti-immigrants”.
The heated argument between Rose and Farage— (ITV)
The heated argument began as Rose, 26, asked the politician about his stance on immigration after saying she had read online that Farage was "anti-immigrants".
“Apparently you’re anti-immigrants”, the YouTuber said. As they both stood in the bath area of the camp, Rose asked: “Why don’t black people like you?” Farage claimed: “You’d be amazed, they do. If you came with me through south London, you’d be astonished.”
Farage was also criticised by First Dates presenter Fred Sirieix on several occasions. In the most recent episode, Sirieix hit out at the politician over a comment he made about “European greed”.
Fred Sirieix and Nigel Farage have had a few clashes on ‘I’m a Celebrity'— (ITV/Shutterstock)
The conversation began during breakfast as Farage ate leftover cooked eel. He said: “I wonder how many people at home have had eel risotto for breakfast. From an environmental perspective, the way we’re fishing some of the oceans is not very clever.”
Tony Bellew replied: “We’re destroying the oceans,” Farage told his campmates that he “spoke about” the subject in parliament. When Farage attributed the blame to “European greed”.
Sirieix then interrupted Farage and said: “It’s not just European greed – you’ve got to stop saying that, because it’s the world who is overfishing. You’ve got to stop saying European greed in all of this. This is just not right, Nigel.”
The two continued to go back and forth, but later in the Bush Telegraph, a frustrated Sirieix said Farage “never answers the questions,” and said he was “talking bollocks.”
Meanwhile, Hancock’s appearance on the show caused a public outcry. The former conservative MP was removed from his position after party managers disagreed with his decision to take part in a reality TV show while Parliament was sitting.
Hancock on I’m A Celeb— (James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock)
Hancock made it to third place in the show and was paid £320,000 for taking part, according to the register of MPs’ financial interests.
But Farage and Hancock are not the only political that made it to the jungle.
Other political figures who have had stints in the jungle include Robert Kilroy-Silk in 2008, Nadine Dorries in 2012, Edwina Currie in 2014, and Kezia Dugdale and Stanley Johnson in 2017.
With that being said… maybe viewers could do with a break from politicians.
“Ant and Dec think it’s time their I’m a Celeb get me out of here abomination should take a break from enlisting politicians. Spot on. In fact it should just take a break, permanently,” one user wrote on X/Twitter.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! airs Sunday to Friday at 9pm and Saturday at 9.30pm on ITV.
