YouTube sensation Angry Ginge wasted no time in creating headlines, taking a playful swipe at his future I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! campmate mere moments after landing in Australia.
Jungle Banter Begins at the Airport
The 23-year-old internet star, whose real name is Morgan Burtwistle, was greeted by a crowd of fans and reporters at Brisbane Airport on Friday. The Salford-born gamer, who boasts over 1.3 million Twitch followers, immediately showcased his trademark humour when questioned about his reason for being in the country.
He joked to journalists, including The Mirror's Tom Bryant, that a series of random invitations had led him to Australia. "I got a random phone call last night off Kelly Brook saying she's coming to visit her Auntie Sheila and do I want to join her? I said: 'I might as well'," he quipped.
"Then Lisa Riley rings me and says she's doing Dingles Down Under, do I want to join her? I said I might as well. Then Aitch said he's going on tour so I said I'll join him as well."
A Dig at a Fellow Campmate
In a light-hearted but pointed remark directed at his future campmate, the rapper Aitch, Angry Ginge added with a laugh, "I'm not the number one fan of his music, but he's a good guy."
Aitch, whose real name is Harrison James Armstrong, is a 25-year-old rapper from Manchester known for hits like Straight Rhymez and his 2022 album Close To Home, which reached number two in the charts. Interestingly, both he and Angry Ginge are known supporters of Manchester United.
Angry Ginge was the fourth celebrity to touch down in Australia, following the arrivals of Kelly Brook, Lisa Riley, and Aitch, all of whom had similarly offered implausible excuses for their travels ahead of the show's launch on Sunday, 16 November. Former EastEnders actress Shona McGarty also arrived at the airport shortly after.
Favourite to Win and Jungle Fears
When discussing his prospects for surviving the jungle, Angry Ginge referenced his past outdoor experience while admitting to a major fear. He told The Mirror, "I did a Duke of Edinburgh bronze award at school so I am not too bad at camping. One of the reasons I vowed to never go to Australia was because of the spiders and animals so I am hoping the hotel is secure."
Despite his apprehension, the bookmakers have installed him as the early favourite to win the show, with odds of 3-1. He leads the pack ahead of Celebs Go Dating's Tom Read Wilson, Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet, and Aitch himself.
The celebrities considered least likely to be crowned King or Queen of the Jungle in this series are comedian Ruby Wax at 50-1, comic Eddie Kadi at 35-1, and sports presenter Alex Scott at 22-1.
Other stars confirmed to be jetting to Australia for the new series include Martin Kemp, Ruby Wax, Alex Scott, Jack Osbourne, Eddie Kadi, and presenter Vogue Williams.
