I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! has been hit with more than 100 Ofcom complaints by angry viewers in the first week of the series.
The beloved ITV show returned with a bang on Sunday (November 19) as the latest batch of celebrities push themselves to the limit in the Australian jungle. The festive series kicked off with a bang with the 10 stars split into three teams to complete their gruelling entry tasks before they moved into the famous camp.
But it didn’t take long before viewers flooded to the broadcasting watchdog to share their thoughts on the star-studded line-up. It’s fair to say one ex-politician left viewers up in arms.
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The independent communications regulators revealed that 42 complaints were attributed to Nigel Farage's involvement on the show. A further 31 complaints were made about his firm right-wing political views.
It comes after TV chef Fred Sirieix and former MP got into a heated debate over his Brexit campaign in the run up to the vote back in 2020. The culinary expert asked the politician what the benefits of the UK leaving the EU had been.
Farage replied: “To know that we’re independent, we stand on our own two feet in the world.” But the dad-of-two snapped back: “Brexit was about immigration, I remember your poster.
“I thought it was shameful what you did, Nigel. Shameful.” Nigel was quick to shut down his comment, clarifying: “Sadly, sadly it was absolutely true. It was a poster showing mass of young men moving illegally across borders.”
Fred argued: “It was about demonising migrants” to which Nigel pointed out: “No it wasn’t. In your view it was, but it wasn’t.” The cook pointed out: “It’s not only just my view.”
But it wasn’t just the disgraced MP who faced backlash this week, with beloved Geordie double act Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly also facing the wrath of the public. Just hours into the launch show, the pair risked offending Newcastle’s neighbouring town Sunderland with a cheeky joke.
Ant said: “For the first time in I’m A Celebrity history, we’ve dropped our first three celebrities in the middle of the Australian outback. In case you’re not familiar, it is a barren, hostile environment barely fit for human habitation.”
It was at this point that Dec chimed in with: “Imagine Sunderland, but hotter!” as the duo chuckled to each other on air. After the show, 24 viewers complained to Ofcom about the slanderous joke, with many more rushing to the social media platform X – formerly known as Twitter – to share their frustration online.
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One user penned: “I’m A Celebrity not making a good start making stupid comments about Sunderland. It’s about as funny as Newcastle winning the Champions League.” Another agreed: “This is why I stopped watching I’m A Celebrity b****y insulting Sunderland straight away. B****y sad.”
A third echoed: “Ant and Dec immediately dragging Sunderland the first chance they get. I’m turning it off.” However, some viewers couldn’t help but find the cheeky jab hilarious. One Newcastle fan wrote; “I’m A Celeb gets off to a cracking start where Dec compares Sunderland to being barely fit for human habitation.”
A second commented: “Ant & Dec already cracking out the Sunderland jokes hahahaha,” while a third wrote: “Ant & Dec on the Australian outback: ‘Imagine Sunderland, but hotter’ [cry-laughing emoji].” Fans will have to stay tuned to see how the politician will fair in his latest hand of Bushtucker trials.
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