Nigel Farage finishes third on I’m A Celebrity as Sam Thompson crowned winner
Nigel Farage has finished in third place on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! – as ex-Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson was crowned king of the jungle.
Mr Farage, the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader, was reportedly paid up to £1.5m for his appearance on the ITV show.
The GB News presenter joked he was “now a remainer” when he made it to the final alongside reality TV personality Thompson and former professional boxer Tony Bellew, who was runner-up.
Sam Thompson (L) was crowned the winner, with Tony Bellew (R) runner-up. Pic: James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock
After presenters Ant and Dec delivered the news of his third place finish, the 59-year-old said “thank you very much” – and told his fellow finalists: “Well done boys.”
He said he was “absolutely thrilled” to make it to the final, admitting: “Not everyone likes the stuff I’ve campaigned for and stood for over the years.”
But Mr Farage added: “I’m a human being like anyone else and I hope this programme has shown I’m as human as anyone else.”
During his 23 days in the jungle, Mr Farage clashed with campmates Fred Sirieix and Nella Rose over his political views, and tucked into a pizza topped with four different animal penises in his first bushtucker trial.
After being voted out, he was greeted by his French politician girlfriend Laure Ferrari.
Laure Ferrari and Nigel Farage. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
When he was confirmed as one of this year’s contestants, he said he would survive well as he is “used to dealing with snakes and other horrible reptiles” – both in the European Parliament in Brussels and at Westminster.
He made his debut by sticking his head through the window of a campervan filled with snakes and rummaging around in gunk.
Mr Farage was introduced in the first episode saying: “I’m known for politics, for Brexit, and I’m a hero to some people and an absolute villain to millions.
“In the jungle you’re going to find the real me. You might like me more, you might dislike me more, but you will at least find out.”
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Nigel Farage takes part in a bushtucker trial. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
In his final bushtucker trial, Mr Farage was locked in the “panic pit” – an underground metal box filled with snakes.
He joked: “Lots of people would like the snake to strangle me, I suppose, their dream might come true.”
Mr Farage has matched the third-place finish of former health secretary Matt Hancock, whose controversial involvement in last year’s show became the second most complained about TV event of last year, according to Ofcom.
Ex-Conservative MP and former culture secretary Nadine Dorries took part in the 2012 show – but was the first celebrity to be voted out.
Other politicians who have entered the jungle include former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik and former Scottish Labour Party leader Kezia Dugdale.
The crash involving a cargo ship and oil tanker off the East Yorkshire coast is bad news for the sea, fish and air in the area. What we don’t know yet is quite how bad it will be.
That depends on a few things – but the speed of the collision, clouds of filthy black smoke from the fires and the leaked fuel are certainly worrying.
Firstly, it matters what was on board those two massive vessels.
Follow live: Jet fuel spilling into sea after tanker collision
Analytics firm Vortexa estimates the 183m-long tanker was carrying about 130,000 barrels of jet fuel (kerosene), which is now leaking into the sea.
Jet fuel is not as sticky or viscous as heavier types of oil, thankfully, so it’s less likely to clog the feathers and fur of birds and seals. It can also be broken down by natural bacteria.
But it can still poison fish and kill animals and plants on the shoreline if it makes its way into the soil there.
The Marine Conservation Society has pointed out the site in the Humber estuary is close to some protected areas and is important for seabirds and harbour porpoises.
And both ships will have been powered by a dirtier, heavier kind of oil – likely marine gas oil or heavy fuel oil, though we don’t know the details yet.
Heavy fuel oil is nasty stuff.
Pic: Bartek Smialek/PA
Cheap, thick and tar-like, it can smother animals and is very dangerous if they consume it, and is extremely difficult to clean up. Let’s hope this isn’t creeping around the North Sea already.
We don’t know how much of either the jet fuel or the oil powering the ships has leaked, or how much will be burned off in the violent fires – which themselves are ploughing black smoke and filthy air pollution into the surrounding atmosphere.
And we don’t know for sure what was on the Solong cargo ship and if, or what, will go into the sea.
Cargo ship ‘had sodium cyanide on board’
It was carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide among other cargo, according to a report from maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
The container vessel was also transporting an unknown quantity of alcohol, said the casualty report – an assessment of incidents at sea – citing a message from the local coastguard.
Plastic takes hundreds of years to break down, and potentially can choke or trap animals.
Many of us have seen that uncomfortable viral video of a turtle having a straw yanked out of its nose. Previous accidents on cargo ships have seen plastic Lego pieces wash up in Cornwall 25 years later.
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Secondly, the impact depends on the sea and weather conditions around it.
Things like the wind and currents affect how an oil spill spreads in the sea. Scientists can draw up computer models to simulate how the oil could behave.
Thirdly, it matters how quickly this is all tackled and then cleaned up, if necessary, and if it can be.
Usually the slower the response, the worse the impact.
The coastguard has said the incident “remains ongoing” and it has started assessing the “likely counter pollution response” that will be required.
Such a response might need the help of numerous public bodies: the government environment department, the transport department, the Environment Agency and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
So for now the best we can hope for – aside from the welfare of the people involved – is that not all the oil is spilled or burnt, that conditions are calm and that rescuers and those cleaning up can work swiftly.
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