Hollyoaks ' future has been confirmed by one of its longest- serving actors as he headed into the I'm A Celebrity jungle.
Veteran actor Nick Pickard has given an update on where Channel 4 bosses stand on the soap after it was taken off the channel earlier this year. The show, which had been on the main channel since its inception in 1995, was brought onto sister E4 to keep him younger audiences engaged - with additional content being released online.
Nick, 48, has played Tony Hutchison on the show since the show first hit our screens 38 years ago. But speaking to The Sun ahead of his entrance on the ITV reality show, Pickard admitted he was unsure of the show's future in the long time.
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He also confessed that actors that are on the show are employed on an annual basis. Speaking to the newspaper, he said: "It’s all about if the money’s still coming in and we’ve been told that we definitely go on until at least the 30th anniversary so that’s as far as I know.
"I’m only contracted year to year anyway," he continued. "So I’ve always taken each year as it comes and like every there’s a few of us in the cast and every time we get a contract we go out and have a little drink and say it’s another year in the sunshine."
Nick has kept his head down since he first walked into the jungle on Sunday (November 19). Before going on the show, the soap legend confessed he was feeling nervous about certain aspects of the jungle experience.
In a joke, Pickard said that he was more concerned about keeping his clothes on to clean himself instead of the insects and dangerous wildlife. "I’ve always been fit but I’ve never been muscle toned and I’m nearly 50 now so I’m a bit worried about the jungle shower," he said.
He admitted: "I didn't realise that you are in full bloom as well as in the waterfall. I was doing a bit of exercise in the gym just now trying to beef up a bit."
Nick's stint in the jungle comes after First Dates star maitre d' Fred Sirieix has landed himself in hot water after two spats with other campmates. In a heated debate in the first days of the show, Fred clashed with GB News host Nigel Farage over the results of Brexit.
Things were worsened when in Tuesday's episode (November 21), Fred had a run-in with Youtuber Nella Rose after he made a remark that he was old enough to be her dad. After sleeping on the comments, Nella slammed Fred for what he said, branding him a "weirdo" and refusing to eat his food.
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