Katherine Ryan brands Nigel Farage as 'dangerous' in ITV I'm A Celebrity boycott

28 November 2023 , 16:52

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Katherine Ryan brands Nigel Farage as 'dangerous' in ITV I'm A Celebrity boycott

Katherine Ryan has joined the thousands of people boycotting I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! 2023 over its inclusion of Nigel Farage.

The Canadian comedian slammed ITV for 'glorifying' controversial politicians, accusing the network of "reducing them to light entertainment fodder." Katherine, 42, added that UKIP leader Farage and Matt Hancock, who placed third on the gritty reality show last year, are "very dangerous" and have "directly hurt lots of families." She also confirmed she would not be tuning into the 2023 series, having also refused to watch it last year over the former Health Secretary's participation.

The hashtag #BoycottImACeleb' has now been used by nearly 10,000 people since Farage's addition to the lineup was announced, causing a drop in ratings that has since been dubbed the 'Farage Effect.' The 59-year-old Eurosceptic, best known for founding the Brexit Party and espousing right-wing ideologies, is understood to be the highest-paid contestant in I'm A Celebrity history after reportedly accepting a fee of £1.4 million to appear on the show.

Katherine has boycotted I'm A Celebrity over Nigel Farage's participation (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Katherine also revealed that ITV had approached her to join the jungle before but that she wouldn't be able to commit to the series because of her parenting duties. "They’ve checked my availability in the past maybe, but I’ve always had small children and I wouldn’t be away from them in Australia for 30 days, I just wouldn’t," she told Metro. The Duchess star did accept, however, that I'm A Celebrity has had a positive impact on some of her fellow VIPs, including her friend, Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison. Katherine also noted that Joel Dommett, who finished as runner-up on the show in 2016, had also benefited from the experience. "We really got to see his personality on I’m A Celebrity and I think comedians are great because they have nothing to hide, we’re very candid anyway so you could film us 24 hours a day and I think it’s fine," she said.

Katherine Ryan also revealed she'd be the 'worst candidate' on I'm A Celebrity (Getty Images for Sky UK)

Joel Dommett on I'm A Celebrity in 2016 (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

As for herself, Katherine believes that her pale skin and sensitive taste buds would likely be a major hindrance to her success on the show. "I don’t do well with sun, and I don’t think I’d like to eat crazy things and be scared, and I don’t like snakes or spiders," she admitted. "I’m the worst candidate to really be on that show, so I keep having children to make sure I’m not available!"

Corrie's Sue Cleaver says I'm A Celebrity stint helped her to push boundaries

Katherine also shared her thoughts on doing Strictly Come Dancing, before making a cheeky nod to the glitzy show's notorious 'Strictly curse': "They have sort of inquired about Strictly before, not a direct offer, but again, that just takes so much rehearsal time and I haven’t been married long enough to have an affair!" The stand-up comic has hinted she could do Strictly in the future, however, telling Loose Women viewers in September that she'd 'love' the opportunity to compete for the Glitterball Trophy when her children are older.

Emma Dooney