ITV Im A Celeb hit with string of Ofcom complaints as Nigel Farage backlash rumbles on

Ofcom has received over 100 complaints in relation to the current series of I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

The ITV flagship show was hit by controversy before the new series even launched, when it was reported that former UKIP leader Nigel Farage would be taking part in the show.

This led to many viewers threatening to boycott the show, and the controversy has only continued with a number of complaints to Ofcom – the UK's communications regulator – being related to Nigel.

It was confirmed on Wednesday, 22 November, that 42 of the complaints were about Nigel Farage appearing on the show, while 31 complaints were about comments critical of right-wing politics.

An additional 24 complaints were about a joke made by Ant and Dec about the city of Sunderland.

Ahead of the show's launch, ITV was forced to release a statement in response to the uproar over the politician's inclusion in this year's line-up.

In their statement, ITV said: "I'm A Celebrity has always featured a diverse cast from all areas of public life and has a history of featuring political figures throughout its 20 years on screen.

"As with any camp mate, viewers are invited to form their own opinions when the show begins on Sunday."

A number of viewers have been left unhappy at Nigel's appearance on the show, with Naomi Smith, the CEO of Best for Britain, saying: "While the thought of Farage mingling with other creepy-crawlies may seem appropriate, anything that normalises or amplifies his toxic views must be opposed.

"After a weekend that saw police injured at the hands of a far-right mob, and after years of his politics poisoning our society, we want the public to send a clear message to Ant and Dec, ITV and the media at large, that giving a divisive populist like Farage a nightly primetime platform is not good for our country."

Farage has ruffled feathers with his stint on the show, but he's ready for the backlash. He explained that he joined the show to "test" himself.

Before heading into the jungle, he shared: "I want to test myself. Business, politics, media, I've done so many different jobs and generally I have been reasonably successful. But I have never been tested in quite this way."

He added: "It's such a mental test and maybe I will discover who I really am. I understood why Matt Hancock did it. He went in there with his reputation on the floor. The truth is after the banking issue I raised a few months ago, I was standing up for a million people who had lost their bank accounts, then winning at the TRIC awards, I am going in at a different stage of my career."

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