Ruby Wax hasn’t set foot in the I’m A Celebrity jungle yet — but she’s already kicking off with ITV bosses, joking she may end up suing them before the first Bushtucker Trial even begins.
The 71-year-old comedian is among the high-profile names joining Sunday’s premiere alongside Kelly Brook, Jack Osbourne and Alex Scott. But instead of celebrating her big entrance, Ruby is busy calling out the “trash” accommodation ITV booked for her pre-jungle stay.
“This hotel is just trash… I am complaining and changing rooms already,” she told The Mirror, making it very clear she wasn’t impressed.
And she didn’t stop there. Ruby teased that once the exhaustion and hunger hit, she might escalate things even further. “Oh, then I would get snarly, but not to anybody. I would just get snarly at the people who are producing this show and remind them that they are insured and I could sue them.”
Known for her sharp wit and wild storytelling, Ruby also said she plans to entertain (or torment) her campmates with tales about Donald Trump, OJ Simpson and Sarah Ferguson. “Oh, Donald Trump I do not think is too worried. I think there is a whole country that might agree with me… I do not think he will be listening to the show, so I will be okay.”
She added that her stories about Trump will be told “whether they want them or not”.
Meanwhile, the line-up is packed with big personalities: rapper Aitch, AngryGinge star Morgan Burtwistle, EastEnders’ Shona McCarty, comedian Eddie Kadi, Emmerdale’s Lisa Riley and Spandau Ballet icon Martin Kemp.
Jack Osbourne — still processing the loss of his father Ozzy Osbourne — admitted the jungle may be an emotional escape. “It’s absolutely going to be hard leaving them behind. I have got lots of kids, my wife, and my family still in the wake of my dad passing.”
Kelly Brook, 45, revealed that she once promised she’d “never do I’m A Celebrity”, admitting she never imagined she’d survive the trials. But life surprised her. “Since I have been with my husband, we have done a few things that I’ve surprised myself by. We did Race Across The World and I ran the London marathon this year. I thought: ‘Maybe I could do it, maybe I could cope.’”
Ant and Dec return to host the hit show’s 25th anniversary year, following McFly’s Danny Jones winning the last series.
I’m A Celebrity launches Sunday, November 16, at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
