ITV’s infamous show ‘I’m a Celebrity.... Get Me Out of Here!’ has suffered a crushing ratings blow after casting controversial former politician Nigel Farage in their 2023 lineup. Farage has reportedly secured a £1.5 million deal, which would make him the highest paid public figure in the history of the show.
This choice has angered many viewers and there has been uproar on social media. This Morning presenter Susanna Reid has described Farage as “disingenuous” in his response when asked on the show whether he would like to become Prime minister. On top of this, nearly 10,000 people online have posted using the tag #BoycottImaCeleb and several petitions have been launched to remove him from the show with many describing the production company’s decision to cast the political figure as “tone deaf”.
Comedian London Hughes wrote on Twitter: “If I went on and found out I was on the show with Nigel Farage, I’d leave and sue for racial negligence... but that’s just me” and “I'd say that I’m quite shocked that ITV is platforming a racist as a form of entertainment, but nothing really surprises me anymore”.
Controversy around this decision may be one of several reasons as to why the series has dropped to 7.8 million viewers, losing nearly 2 million viewers this series - the average for previous years being 9.1 million viewers. The viewings dropped even further on the second episode; Overnights TV have reported that this episode of the series brought in an average of 6.1 million viewers.
Farage has always been a polarising figure in British politics featuring heavily in the pro-Brexit campaign of 2016 with his right-wing views on a range of topics from immigration to the gender pay gap. He has also been accused of inciting xenophobia across the country.
Farage’s casting follows another controversial politician Matt Hancock, who took part in the last year finishing in third place, to the dismay of much of the public after his affair scandal with Secretary Gina Coladangelo. This has led to suggestions from some viewers on social media that ITV is giving these politicians a platform to rebuild their public image and to boost the channel’s own ratings.
Farage believes that he has been demonised over the years and wants to show people that he isn’t nasty, promising viewers in an introduction video that “in the jungle you're going to find the real me”. He also wasted no time in speaking his mind in camp, admitting to food critic Grace Dent that he wanted to take part in trials to get “25% of the airtime” in his plan on “reaching a whole new audience”. This has added validity to claims that he is on the show to build his public image. It remains to be seen whether his part on the show will reach said audience, but if his political career is anything to go by, this will certainly be an interesting experience.