Producers of ITV's I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here have refuted accusations the show has been dumbing down Nigel Farage's screentime.
Last week the former UKIP leader, 59, shared that he was shocked at not being picked for the second bushtucker trial, with YouTuber Nella Rose being voted by the public instead.
He told his fellow campmates: "I was ready to do the trial. And so the fact that it didn't come came as a bit of a shock to me in an odd sort of way. Like this is a bit funny."
He then told food critic Grace Dent: "You see, if you do the challenges, it is 25 per cent of the airtime. I'm looking to reach a new audience, sorry to be cynical."
Friends of Nigel Farage accuse ITV of limiting his I'm A Celeb screentime to make him look bad. They do this every year to one or more campmates. Those furious about Farage don't understand a 21 year-old show they've clearly never seen before.https://t.co/ry22GewrL9 @MailOnline
— Kevin O'Sullivan (@TVKev) November 28, 2023
On TV channel GB News, where Farage normally hosts a show, claims have been made that conversations about former US president Trump were dumped by producers.
Farage and Trump are friends and have been pictured together a number of times when meeting to discuss business.
GB News went on to suggest that "ITV execs are making a conscious effort to limit Farage’s screen time".
An ITV source said the claims were untrue and told the Mirror: "This is nonsense. Even if he has mentioned Trump, we can't feature every single camp conversation – there's just not enough screen hours in the day. We're an entertainment show, we can't show everything, it's that simple."
ITV response to my Farage/Trump censorship exclusive:
— Ben Leo (@benleo444) November 28, 2023
“We are a 60-75 minute Entertainment show and the content featured is a fair and accurate representation of life in camp.”
Omitting a conversation about Trump is deliberate pandering to the Left.
In recent years viewers have been left disappointed with the decreasing amount of bust-ups in camp, as ITV began to adopt a more harmonious atmosphere in camp.
This year, however, has been far from settled.
Nella Rose has been the focal point of the arguments so far, now famously calling Fred Sirieix a "weirdo" for offending her.
Farage himself has been called out on several occasions and looks increasingly miffed at not getting screen time it appears.
I'm a Celebrity 2023
The new series of I’m A Celebrity launched on ITV last Sunday night, when Nigel Farage, Nella Rose and Josie Gibson were dropped in the middle of the outback.
Meanwhile, First Dates star Fred Sirieix, food critic Grace Dent, former Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson and ex-EastEnders actress Danielle Harold had to climb down the side of a skyscraper to win food, while JLS singer Marvin Humes, Hollyoaks actor Nick Pickard and Jamie Lynn Spears, the sister of Britney Spears, had to skydive into a clearing before completing a Bushtucker trial of their own.
The first episode of the new series had more than two million fewer viewers than last year.
I'm A Celebrity airs on ITV1 and ITVX at 9pm daily.
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