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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Victoria Johns

Mike Tindall has 'cheapened' royal family with I'm A Celeb stint, claims royal expert

Mike Tindall has been accused of 'cheapening' the royal family with his appearance on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!

The former rugby player, 44, is proving a hit with campmates and viewers after showing off his survival skills, rap repertoire and boozy tales of his early romance with wife Zara Tindall.

But Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent Jack Royston has slammed the star for spilling secrets about 'The Firm' - especially in the wake of Prince Harry's bombshell memoir, Spare.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain today (Nov 8), Jack told Susanna Reid and Ed Balls: "We're waiting for Harry's memoir, it's going to come out it's gonna be full of all these bombshells.

"And then all of this machinery of royal sources and Palace sources and so on will kick into gear to say he's cashing in on his royal fame and his royal connection.

Mike Tindall has been tipped to win I'm A Celeb (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

"Who enters this tinderbox environment from stage left? None other than Mike Tindall carrying a plate of kangaroo bum."

Before the show's launch, Mike was papped larking around with one of the show's crew in Australia - which also didn't go down well with Jack.

He said: "We've also had pictures with his [Mike's] hands all over a female TV producer, which doesn't look good for the royals and probably will be embarrassing for Zara."

The former rugby player is married to King Charles' niece Zara Phillips (Getty Images)

In last night's show Mike revealed how he met his wife - who is the niece of King Charles - in Sydney in 2003.

He told his campmates the pair "went out for lunch locally", which ended up being "quite boozy".

"Then we figure out we both quite like getting smashed," Mike joked.

While Jack criticised the father-of-three's appearance on the show, others praised Mike for his honesty.

Culture expert Nick Ede, who also appeared on Good Morning Britain today said: "I really think he could be the new King of the jungle because he has got such a great personality.

Culture expert Nick Ede thinks Mike's stint on the show will be good for the royals (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

"You've got to remember he was a celebrity before he was part of the royal family."

Suggesting he was a "rather fantastic man", Nick also said that Mike is a good advert for the royal family particularly as the new series of the controversial Crown gets ready to air.

He concluded: "From a PR point of view this is a great thing for them because all eyes are going to be on The Crown, all eyes are going to be on Harry's book and actually this is a really positive way of showing him as a really fun person who's part of a great family."

•I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! continues on ITV on Tuesday at 9.15pm

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