First Dates star Fred Sirieix started a rumble in the I’m A Celebrity jungle as he attacked Nigel Farage over his Brexit campaign and branded it "shameful".
The 51-year-old Frenchman was with the failed politician for less than 48 hours in camp before he questioned his tactics and motivation for wanting the UK to leave Europe in 2016. Fred said the average person had "lost out" now we were no longer part of the EU, but Farage insisted "they haven't lost out" despite multiple problems for the country since it left.
The conversation started calmly with Josie Gibson and Danielle Harold asking Farage what ex Prime Minister Boris Johnson was really like. He replied: “Entertaining… in small doses. [He’s] surprisingly introverted. You see this big act, fluffing the hair… surprising.
“I think he’s one of the most disorganised human beings that possibly ever lived. The whole thing’s bloody chaos. Shambles.” In the Bush Telegraph Danielle said: “I found it so interesting to listen, sat with him picking his brains, having a chat. Then it got a little bit heated.”
READ MORE: Met Eireann gives date cold weather could engulf Ireland as temperatures plummet to freezing
Fred asked Farage: “What’s the benefit of Brexit then? If you are an average person from Britain, what’s the benefit?” Farage said: “To know that we’re independent, we stand on our own two feet in the world.”
Fred said back: “Brexit was about immigration, I remember your poster. I thought it was shameful what you did Nigel. Shameful.” Farage replied: “Sadly, sadly it was absolutely true. It was a poster showing mass young men moving illegally across borders.”
Fred then said: “But it was about demonising migrants.” Farage replied: “No it wasn’t. In your view it was, but it wasn’t.” To which Fred said: “It’s not only just my view.”
UKIP's controversial "breaking point" anti-EU poster in 2016 showed a long queue of migrants. A number of politicians attacked the 2016 poster, featuring a photo taken in Slovenia, with George Osborne saying at the time it had "echoes" of 1930s' literature and was "disgusting and vile".
In the Bush Telegraph Farage said: “I knew it wouldn’t take long, I knew politics would rear its head as indeed it did. And Fred feels very strongly about it.” During the conversation, Farage also said: “Brexit is about one thing and one thing only; being self-governing.
"We’re in charge. We can get it right, we can make an absolute mess of it but we’re in charge and the people who make those decisions we can hire and fire at elections where they have real power.” Fred said: “I think the average person in the UK has lost out because of what you’ve done.” Farage said: “They haven’t lost out.”
In the Bush Telegraph Fred said afterwards: “Look, Nigel Farage is in the jungle with me. We’re bound to have this conversation. At the end of the day nothing is going to change, Nigel believes what he believes, I believe what I believe. It was only a matter of time.”
One person who didn't join in with the conversation was Grace Dent. The food critic was not interested in discussing Brexit with Farage and went to do the washing up.
In the Bush Telegraph she explained: “I would 100% rather wash up than listen to another single word about Brexit. I was just like, ‘Oh my god, I’m going to go and put my head in that stream.’”
Farage was also shown flashing his bum in the episode as Josie spotted him mooning whilst taking a shower. Josie said: “Freaking hell! I wasn’t expecting to see Nigel Farage’s bottom so soon! But, I’ve seen worse. No, I haven’t. I haven’t! Fair play to him. He’s not shy, he just gets on in there. At least he’s clean.”
I’m A Celebrity 2023 airs every night at 9pm on Virgin Media.
Join the Irish Mirror’s breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive breaking news and the latest headlines direct to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
