Yahoo News 'The joke's on ITV if Nigel Farage wins I'm a Celebrity'
The hiring of the controversial politician hasn't paid off for I'm a Celeb
As the clock ticks down to tonight’s I’m a Celebrity final, the big question on everyone’s lips is surely this: Will Britain’s premier betting and bingo advertiser be counting the cost of its own massive gamble?
In other words, will ITV’s £1.5 million punt, Nigel Farage, defy the odds and the haters and become the latest King of the Jungle? The so-called “Pound shop Enoch Powell” as the new smiling face of ITV. You can just imagine the panicked faces back at head office.
At this stage of proceedings, you have to say Big Nige has more than a puncher’s chance — not least because his trusty swinger has the weight of a very well organised social media block voting campaign behind it. For Farage fans and mischief-makers alike, this is another Rage Against The Machine versus Simon Cowell moment.
The fact that Nigel saw off one of the pre-show favourites Josie Gibson in the latest eviction battle on Saturday night was the clearest sign yet of his title credentials. Of course, someone at ITV will know precisely how well Farage is doing in the voting.
So, right now, they may be fairly relaxed; safe in the knowledge that Nigel is so far behind Sam Thompson and Tony Bellew it would take a huge upset for him to grab the crown. Or they could be feeling utterly powerless, pacing up and down like Fred Sirieix on bean fritter night.
If Nigel does triumph, it will serve ITV right. And, as the famous Cristiano Ronaldo meme (almost) goes, “I will love it and I think they will deserve it.”
At the start of it all, the producers and ITV execs were probably high-fiving themselves for dropping a 100 megaton stink bomb in a packed lift and jumping out just as the doors were closing.
We can’t be sure of the exact moment they realised they’d forgotten to block the air vents, but the sight of Ant & Dec effectively banning politicians from the show for the foreseeable future was a big clue that ITV knew it had messed up big time.
To be fair, Nigel has behaved exactly how I expected him to behave in camp. He’s been charming and polite, treating the entire process like a drinks reception at a Home Counties golf club. He’s been (admirably) up for most of the challenges that have been thrown at him. And, to no one’s surprise, Pint Man was absolutely in his element down The Jungle Arms. He even recreated the I’m Too Sexy stripping routine that he first performed on his GB News show in front of an approving audience — which, spooky omen fans — included former King of the Jungle Harry Redknapp.
A flick a day keeps the ants away 🐜👌 #ImACeleb pic.twitter.com/8LY8aXdwW2
— I'm A Celebrity... (@imacelebrity) December 9, 2023
Most importantly, Nigel has so far steadfastly failed to provide the producers with any of the explosive content they’d been hoping for. And that’s because he’s five times as clever as they think they are. Obviously, “I wasn’t as horrible as many people expected me to be” would be a bizarre reason for someone winning TV's biggest popularity contest.
Sadly, we are where we are. 2023 has not been a vintage year. You can lay some of the blame for that at Nigel’s door, but not all of it.
Unless something incredible happens tonight, this year’s highlights package will be a few rounds of passive aggression around the cooking pot between the doorman off First Dates and This Morning’s holiday cover. And yes, that does look even less enthralling written down than it did on a TV screen.
As ITV’s fidgety PR spinners never tire of reminding us, I’m a Celebrity will still almost certainly end up being the most watched entertainment show of the year.
However, they are less keen to publicise the fact that the ratings have been considerably down, and that outside of ITV Daytime’s contractually-obliged bubble there has been very little buzz about the show. I’m a Celebrity has bounced back from dud years before though, so I’m sure 2024 will be dynamite.
As for tonight, if Nigel does end up winning I hope his victory speech will go a little something like this.
“When I first came here 22 days ago, Ant and Dec laughed at me and GB News for not having any viewers. Well, you’re not laughing now. Cheers, Keith and Linda — this one’s for you.”
The finale of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! will air at 9pm, Sunday on ITV1.
