Nigel Farage is expecting a "frosty" reception from his fellow 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' campmates.
I'm A Celebrity's Nigel Farage expects 'frosty' reception from his fellow campmates
The former UK Independence Party (UKIP) and Brexit Party leader - who is rumoured to be earning £1.5 million for the show - is hoping his time in the Australian jungle will "dispel" some of people's "misconceptions" about him, but he is expecting a tough initial reaction.
He said: "What will be interesting is the perception the other campers will have of me.
"They will go in with their preconceived ideas and it might be a little bit frosty - we will just have to see.
"I can’t pretend to be anyone other than who I am, I never have. But I survived for 20 years in the European Parliament with all sorts of people trying to trip me up, so I am used to that.
"The idea that somehow the things I represent - mean-spirited, small-minded, nasty, the ‘little Englander’ - all those accusations that have been flung at me over the years just aren’t true.
"If we can dispel some of those misconceptions, then that will be a good thing too."
Nigel also wants to find out who he "really is" on the reality show, and he is hopeful of achieving similar success to former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who finished third on the programme last year.
He said: "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.
"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."
Nigel isn't expecting to get on with all his campmates - who will include the likes of This Morning's Josie Gibson, First Dates' star Fred Siriex, JLS singer Marvin Humes, and NTA award-winning former 'EastEnders' actress Danielle Harold - but hopes he can cheer up some of his fellow stars if they are "feeling down".
He said: "I am hoping to have some good times, a good laugh and I am sure I won’t get on with everybody, but I just think it’s going to be an incredible experience doing 'I'm A Celebrity'.
"I will give as good as I get! I hopefully can cheer people up when they are feeling down and muck in, too. But I do snore a bit!"
'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' will return on ITV1 and ITVX from Sunday 19 November at 9pm.
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