John Bercow is said to have requested a £1 million fee to take part in 'I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!'.
John Bercow
The Speaker of the House of Commons was rumoured to be heading to the jungle this year after stepping down from his role yesterday (31.10.19), but he may have put paid to his chances of appearing on the programme with his reported demands.
An ITV source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "John has priced himself out of the market by asking for £1million, far more than anyone's ever been paid on the show.
"It's a shame, he would have been an interesting addition to the jungle gathering, not least because of his extremely extensive vocabulary.
"He is a proper character with a long career in politics. He knows a lot of fascinating people, and plenty of their secrets. But perhaps he decided to demand a crazy fee because he just didn't want to do it?
"He's probably terrified of spiders. Or of eating kangaroo balls."
However, John's spokeswoman insisted he did ever have any intention of joining the show.
She said: "There's no way on earth he'd go on 'I'm A Celebrity'. He has other plans."
The record for the highest fee, £600,000, went to Noel Edmonds when he joined the show after it had begun last year, alongside Harry Redknapp, who received £500,000.
While it doesn't look likely that John will appear in the jungle, the bookies are still offering odds of 4/5 that the 56-year-old British politician will turn up in Australia.
What's more, Jennifer Metcalfe has confirmed she will not be joining the celebs in the jungle after ITV bosses were said to be "really keen" to sign her up for the programme.
The 'Hollyoaks' star exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "No, I'm actually not doing it. I couldn't leave my boy for that long."
While she won't be downing any liquidised bug cocktails, or battling against creepy crawlies in Oz, former 'Love Island' star Olivia Attwood could be, as the star recently admitted she has been in talks for the programme.
She said: "There have been conversations with 'I'm A Celebrity'. It's ongoing.
"It would be my dream to do the jungle. I've made no qualms about that. It's such an iconic show."
Another star heavily linked to the upcoming series is 'Good Morning Britain' co-host Kate Garraway, after she previously admitted her kids would love to see her on the show.
She said: "I think it's completely terrifying but it's also a brilliant show to watch, so I don't know.
"My kids would love me to do it, I don't know what that says."
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