Nigel Farage comes third on I’m A Celeb

It’s been a highly anticipated finale of I’m A Celebrity, not least because of the staying power of Brexit mastermind Nigel Farage — who tonight made third place in the series. For weeks, viewers have been glued to their screens, delighting in seeing the controversial GB news presenter squirm. From eating pig’s anus on pizza to being filmed in the nude, it’s certainly tested Farage’s humility. 

But while no one could accuse Farage of being camera shy, ITV insiders have complained that the ex-MEP is ‘one of the least interesting campmates ever’. Others have criticised the former Brexit party leader of tactically stripping and wearing his shirt backwards to better display his voting information. Footage played back tonight by Ant and Dec showed him whispering to a fellow campmate that ‘if you do the challenges, it’s 25 per cent of the airtime.’ Once a politician, always a politician… 

Though not quite King of the Jungle, a beaming Farage told the presenting duo that ‘if the public have put me in number three, I couldn’t be more thrilled’. His mission in image rehabilitation well underway, Farage will now return to much less exotic surroundings. It’s back to the real world, where he’ll be pressed to address rumours about whether this has all been part of a grand scheme to return to frontline politics.

And maybe he will. After social media hashtags evolved over the course of the series from #BoycottImACeleb to #NigelFarageToWinImACeleb, the former Ukip leader has shown that when it comes to his infamous campaigning charm, he’s still got it…