It’s a huge success for broadcaster ITV, but the British royal family is in for a new PR nightmare. With Mike Tindall, a member of the Royal Family is taking part in the British edition of the TV jungle camp for the first time. Mike who?
The 44-year-old is little known outside of the UK. But as the husband of Zara Tindall, 41, a niece of King Charles III, the former rugby international has had a front row seat to important moments in royal life.
“He’s certainly discreet, but his sheer presence makes this series a must-watch,” a source at broadcaster ITV told the Sun tabloid.
Newspaper: “Sleepless Nights” for Palace officials
Now he described himself as an “open book” before the reality show “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!”, which starts this Sunday (November 6th), and which reaches an audience of millions. It is considered likely that the father of three children will tell one or the other anecdote. “Buckingham Palace is preparing for another PR nightmare,” commented the newspaper “Daily Mail” and predicted “sleepless nights” for the palace staff.
Because with Tindall’s prominent participation in the jungle camp, for which, according to media reports, he collects 150,000 pounds (almost 175,000 euros), the royal family is again in the headlines that they are less likely to like. The mood is already subdued after the king’s son Prince Harry – Zara Tindall’s cousin – announced his memoirs with the meaningful title “Reserve” for January.
So far there has been no official statement on the royal jungle camp representative. But the newspaper “Telegraph” reported that the palace had not denied that the son-in-law of Charles’ sister Princess Anne asked for advice in advance – whether for permission is unclear.
Recently, the royals had been a little more open when it came to TV appearances. Charles himself recently had two personal items repaired in a handyman show filmed while he was heir to the throne.
A politician causes the greatest excitement in advance
Mike Tindall has been talking about the jungle camp for a long time. For the first time since the beginning of the corona pandemic, the show will be broadcast from Australia, where the Tindalls met. It was last filmed in Wales.
The show has been extremely popular in the UK for years. Unlike Germany, where the days of celebrity contestants seem longer, ITV consistently features high-profile contestants who have to crawl through mud, squeeze into tight spaces with spiders and snakes, and eat everything from insects to kangaroo testicles.
The rugby world champion of 2003 now meets, among others, European soccer champion Jill Scott (35) and pop star Boy George (61, “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me”). But someone else is currently causing the greatest excitement: Matt Hancock also traveled to Australia as a surprise candidate. The British ex-health minister, who had to resign in June 2021 because he broke the self-imposed corona distance rules with an affair, was kicked out of the conservative parliamentary group because of his participation.
“Looking forward to seeing him eat kangaroo penis”
The 44-year-old defends that he wants to promote his campaign to promote reading and spelling, among other things. But the outrage is great because Hancock receives a handsome salary as a member of parliament and has now been unable to take care of his constituency for weeks.
“I’m looking forward to seeing him eat a kangaroo penis,” Andy Drummond, Deputy Conservative leader in Hancock’s constituency, told the PA news agency. “Quote me. You may quote me with that.”
