The arrival of an I’m A Celebrity ‘legend’ who says returning to the ITV reality show is “terrifying” has divided opinions between fan.
Scottish TV personality Gillian McKeith, 63, has become the first ‘latecomer’ to be introduced to the new series, set in South Africa, and hosted once again by Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.
Gillian, 63, told the Mirror: “It’s going to be more terrifying this time because back then, I didn’t know what to expect but this time I can’t use that as an excuse.
“What I felt before feels 1,000 times worse now and all of it freaks me out but I feel I’ve got a calling to represent all the scaredy cats in Britain – and that is the reason why I’ve said yes.”
Gillian, 63, said: “It’s going to be more terrifying this time because back then, I didn’t know what to expect but this time I can’t use that as an excuse.
“What I felt before feels 1,000 times worse now and all of it freaks me out but I feel I’ve got a calling to represent all the scaredy cats in Britain – and that is the reason why I’ve said yes.”
McKeith, now replete with braided hair, appeared in season 10 and did not receive a warm welcome from current contestant Shaun Ryder, who she fell out with on the show 13 years ago.
The pair had numerous arguments, with Happy Mondays frontman Ryder previously saying: “If Gillian was my wife, she would be in pieces in a plastic bag, deep in a hole in the back garden.”
During her first appearance, she fainted after being nominated for her seventh consecutive bushtucker trial, requiring an on-site medic to step in.
Many accused McKeith of pulling a fast one to get out of the trial, but she maintained she did faint at the prospect of facing another grisly challenge. She later explained she had a history of fainting and had not had much to eat the morning before the trial.
And her dramatic arrival has already stoked up the atmosphere, with Ryder particularly dismayed at her return to the show.
After taking part in a challenge together involving rescuing rubber ducks from freezing cold water, the musician called McKeith “a daft old bat” and said she would “try the patience of a saint”.
“You say nasty things all the time… your tone, everything. The way you speak to everyone,” she told him.
McKeith also told Ryder off for smoking and swearing, but the 60-year-old singer told her where to go in no uncertain terms, before later apologising.
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Her arrival has also not gone down well with many viewers who took to social media to vent their various spleens.
“Really!? The worst contestant in history is in the All-Stars series?” asked one fan on twitter, with another saying: “Gillian McKeith should not be given the oxygen of publicity. If Matt Hancock was a “controversial” choice then the decision to promote this vapid fraud is utterly contemptible.”
There was also this from another angry viewer: “I never had any intention of watching, but after the announcement of Gillian McKeith joining the lineup, I won’t even be tempted.”
And someone else wrote: “Gillian McKeith, thank god it wasn’t Hancock. She is a horrible person, but if that man had appeared my screams would’ve been heard in another continent.”
But not all viewers were led disappointed, with some positively excited by her arrival, with one fan tweeting: “Oh my god she was a surprise. Yes this is going to be brilliant Gillian McKeith hahahaha.”
And another added: “Omg, yes Gillian is back, she is a legend.”
Despite the show having already been filmed last September, the bookies are still offering odds, with 2003 winner Phil Tufnell the 4-1 favourite to be crowned ‘legend of the jungle’, with Ryder at 8-1.
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