Nigel Farage’s appearance on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here this year has been hotly anticipated, with the divisive Brexiter reported to be earning a whopping £1.5m to go on the show. However Farage, 59, is only the most controversial contestant to enter the jungle since, well, last year’s edition of the show. Producers of the hit ITV series, which entered its 23rd edition last night, have made quite the habit of getting contentious names to do Bushtucker trials. Here are the six most controversial. Matt Hancock Matt Hancock resigned as health secretary in disgrace in 2021, after it emerged he had broken his own Covid-19 lockdown guidance by kissing his aide, Gina Coladangelo, at work. Eighteen months later, the man who regularly appeared on our lockdown TV screens telling us to “stay at home” was back on the telly, doing I’m A Celebrity. His appearance in the jungle caused quite a stir, with campmates grilling him over his response to the pandemic. He also sparked hundreds of Ofcom complaints during his 30 days in the jungle. Whether it was a success or a failure is debatable. Hancock came third, earning a reported £320,000 for his stint on the reality show. However, he also lost his place in the Tory party, and drew criticism from the Prime Minister and MPs across the political spectrum. Gemma Collins It's not just politicians on this list! Gemma Collins, star of The Only Way Is Essex, just couldn’t hack it, and only made it three days in the jungle. At the time the 41-year-old said “jungle life is not for me” and quipped that “people who murder get treated better than this”. Viewers in 2014 were left disappointed after Collins gave them several memorable moments. That included stating the obvious while talking to another campmate about her reasons for leaving. “I’ve found it really difficult,” she told another campmate. “I love myself too much to put myself through this.” Stanley Johnson Remember the days when Boris Johnson was just a bumbling former mayor of London who fronted the Vote Leave campaign? That was when his father, Stanley, went on I’m A Celebrity in 2017, aged 77. Stanley is a former Conservative MEP himself, and was the oldest person ever to go on the show. He sparked a friendship with Georgia “Toff” Toffolo, of Made In Chelsea fame, and made it 18 days into the show. Speaking about his experience last year, Stanley said: “Get your hand up quick – Ant or Dec, I was never able to distinguish between them – they come in and… you’ve got to get your hand up because if you don’t, you miss the chance to eat a bull’s testicle for example.” Gillian McKeith Gillian McKeith was an iconic contestant on I’m A Celebrity, partly because she just kept getting voted in to do Bushtucker trials. The TV personality rarely succeeded in winning any stars and even fainted during one of the trials – but the public were undeterred. Perhaps it was something to do with her pseudoscientific ideas around nutrition, which include the detox diet, colonic irrigation (you don’t want to know), and examining people’s poo to work out their illnesses. It’s also worth pointing out that she has no qualifications in nutrition or medicine, and until 2007 used the title “Doctor” on her TV shows. Since going on the show, she has also been slammed for promoting Covid-19 conspiracy theories and anti-vaccine views. Yikes. Nadine Dorries Nadine Dorries was the first sitting MP to make it onto I’m A Celebrity in 2012, meaning she has a lot to answer for. She starred alongside boxer David Haye and Pussycat Dolls singer Ashley Roberts, but only made it 11 days into the show before getting voted off. However, Nads’ controversy didn’t stop there. She was suspended from the Tory party when she got back to the UK for failing to tell the Conservative chief whip of her plans to appear, and failing to declare the fees she received. She said of Farage’s entry into the jungle: “I think Nigel will do very, very well. “He’s got the chutzpah, he’s got the personality, I think he’ll do very well.” Lembit Opik Liberal Democrat MP-turned-serial reality TV star Lembit Opik was voted off I’m A Celebrity early in its 2010 series. That was not before both he and Shaun Ryder were bitten by a snake during a Bushtucker trial, however. While he wasn’t too popular on the show, he also made it onto celebrity editions of The Apprentice and Come Dine With Me. Some people just love the grift, it seems. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Blake Lively gives a nod to baby no. 4 while announcing new business venture

Comic genius often comes with a dark side, as Matthew Perry knew all too well. The Friends star, who died on Saturday, aged 54, battled against addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol for decades. And yet, he was known as a funny man – whose biting wit and mastery of sarcasm made him an icon in the eyes of millions. These two distinct, yet intrinsically linked, sides of his character no doubt helped him empathise with another legend of the big and silver screens: Batman. Indeed, Perry’s last Instagram post, shared just five days before his death referenced the comic book character – with the 54-year-old dubbing himself “Mattman”. Mourning fans were also quick to point out that the accompanying photo of Matty (as his friends called him) showed him relaxing in his outdoor hot tub at home in LA. On 28 October, that same jacuzzi would become the scene of his death, according to law enforcement sources. But this final post wasn’t the only indicator of the 17 Again actor’s fixation with Batman – his previous six were all allusions to the caped crusader. The first of the series, shared a week before his death, showed a home cinema room, with three screens set up to show the latest film in the franchise: The Batman. Others showed the iconic bat symbol in various settings, including carved into a Halloween pumpkin, with Perry repeatedly referring to himself as Mattman. The American-Canadian actor had long, and openly, celebrated his love of the comic book character. In a 2022 interview with GQ, he admitted that he once bought a 10,400-square-foot LA penthouse simply because it resembled the home of Christian Bale’s Batman in The Dark Knight. Perry’s reasoning at the time was apparently: “Bruce Wayne had a penthouse – I’m going to have one.” During the interview, he also revealed that he was building a dedicated Batman room in his new house (which he branded “a Matt cave”), with a pool table, large TV, and black sofa surrounded by shelves of his Batman paraphernalia. Probed on the reason for his obsession, Perry replied: “I am Batman.” He then explained: “Well, he’s a rich loner. We both drive black, cool cars.” He then conceded: “I don’t solve crime. But I’ve saved people’s lives.” In one of GQ’s ‘10 things I can’t live without’ segments, Perry shared further insight into his batty mania, saying that it began with the Christopher Nolan movies but extended to the latest instalment, staring Robert Pattinson. During the deadpan runthrough, he admitted that he had “too much Batman stuff”, but then ended the video by joking that after seeing all his essential items, viewers “should probably know by now that I'm Batman.” 10 Things Matthew Perry Can't Live Without | GQ www.youtube.com Perry’s fans and many of his 8.1 million Instagram followers speculated whether his most recent run of themed posts was more than just another outpouring of adoration for the franchise. They thought it was a hint that he’d been cast in a new Batman role, particularly given that one of the captions penned by Perry read: “Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?” Still, all we know for sure is that Perry saw a lot of himself in Batman – or should that be, he saw a lot of Batman in himself? Regardless, the similarities are striking, especially when you consider what Perry once responded when asked what he’d like his legacy to be. “I would like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker and his paramount thing is that he wants to help people,” he replied. The sentiment is an undeniable echo of one of Batman’s most famous quotes: “It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.” And what Perry did was make people laugh and cry and, ultimately, save lives. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

Basketball player for his high school in Alabama, Caleb White, reportedly passed away after collapsing post a school workout

Blaine Anderson revealed on 'Shark Tank' Season 15 that she had her eye on a certain Shark

YouTuber Ludwig alleged Cody Ko stole his content, saying that the rapper made a video with his college friend

Zayn Malik has finally spoken out about what happened during his infamous 2021 incident with Yolanda Hadid, in his first interview for six years. The One Direction star delicately approached the topic, which involved his ex-girlfriend Gigi Hadid's mum accusing him of getting into an 'altercation' and hurling abuse at her. "I knew what happened and the people involved knew what happened too", he said, saying he didn't speak about it as he didn't want his daughter to 'look back' at it. "I believe I dealt with it in the best way." Click here to sign up for our newsletters

'90 Day Fiance' star Jovi Dufren slammed as he chooses 'sexier' outfit for wife, Yara Zaya, that fans think was demeaning

Kanye West married Bianca Censori in January, less than two months after finalising his divorce from first wife Kim Kardashian

Blur have pulled out of a headline slot at France’s Festival Beauregard this week after drummer Dave Rowntree picked up a knee injury, just days ahead of their Wembley Stadium shows on Saturday (08.07.23) and Sunday (09.07.23).

Writer Salman Rushdie has made a public speech nine months after being stabbed and seriously injured onstage

Hank Green delivered the news that he had been specifically diagnosed with Hodkin's Lymphoma in a video titled 'So, I've got cancer'