Inside I’m a Celebrity star Reverend Richard Coles’ ‘darkish’ previous: From being ‘obliged to lie’ about secrets and techniques to the psychological well being ‘disaster’ that noticed him try suicide

I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! star Reverend Richard Coles has already made a huge splash following his debut in the jungle during Thursday’s show.

The musician-turned-vicar, 63, made his arrival on the ITV show alongside Maura Higgins, with the pair immediately winning over viewers after being assigned a hilarious secret mission.

Despite an illustrious career as a radio presenter, TV star and author, Richard has overcome a string of hardships, including a mental health ‘crisis’ that saw him attempt suicide.

The Strictly Come Dancing star has also shared how he felt ‘obliged to lie’ about his relationship with his late husband David, due to their positions in the church.

Richard also originally rose to fame as a member of 1980s group The Communards, but after finding faith in the 1990s, was ordained as a priest in 2005.

MailOnline takes a look at the various challenges Richard has overcome, as he continues to win over viewers in the I’m A Celebrity jungle…

Shocking HIV lie

Richard originally joined forces with former Bronski Boy singer Jimmy Somerville to form the grop The Communards in 1985.

Their biggest hit came in 1986 when they covered Thelma Houston’s Don’t Leave Me This Way, and it spent four weeks at the top of the charts.

The Communards ultimately released two albums before they split in 1988.

Richard previously spoke about the band’s split in 2022, telling Classic Pop Magazine: ‘I don’t think we understood each other. Our lives were so different, we didn’t really have the tools for finding our way through disagreements.

‘It was obvious we had nothing left to give each other. We never actually split up, though. We just decided to stop for a while. It’s a pause that’s lasted 33 years.’ 

Jimmy also previously shared that they were estranged for many years, after Richard lied to him about being HIV positive.

He told The Independant in 2015: ‘I’d known lots of people who had died, people who were ill. I was in my own dark place of trying to deal with everything that was happening so I put a barrier up and we didn’t speak for a long time.’

However, the pair have since rebuilt their friendship, and they exchanged messages before Richard published his autobiography in 2015.

Sex confession

After being ordained in 2005, Richard met fellow priest David Oldham and in 2010 they entered a civil partnership together. 

David tragically died after battling alcoholism in 2019, and in his biography, Richard admitted that he struggled with the restrictions of being in a same-sex partnership while working for the church.

He wrote: ‘It was very difficult in the church, because it was kind of acceptable to be in a same-sex partnership but you were expected to have a celibate relationship – which I was unable to do.’

‘I think it would have been worse to have denied myself and David the kind of unique, wonderful thing that came with having a relationship.’

Richard later told The Times that he was forced to keep his sex life a secret from his employers, saying: ‘I felt sometimes like I was in the resistance and they were the Gestapo. I mean, I’m overstating it, but what I did feel is that they had no moral cause, so I didn’t feel that I had a moral obligation at all.

‘And I’m not the first person to find themselves obliged to lie for institutional reasons in the Church of England.’

Following David’s death, Richard has found love again with actor Dickie Cant, who has starred in Midsomer Murders and The Crown. 

The pair met on a dating website, and after finding out they had many mutual friends, the vicar kicked off his chat with a waving emoji. 

He went onto tell Lorraine: ‘I wanted to meet someone who had been around the block and wanted to share a life with someone. I thought I was out of the game when David died.’ 

Mental health crisis

Richard previously revealed that he suffered a mental health ‘crisis’ after coming out, that saw him try to take his own life.

He previously shared said he was an inpatient at St Andrew’s Healthcare in Northampton when he had an episode of clinical depression at the age of 17.

Richard said he was coming to terms with his sexuality and ‘as a gay man in Kettering in 1978’ at the time.

The care he received ‘literally saved my life’, he said.

The former Strictly Come Dancing celebrity contestant said: ‘There really wasn’t much sense of a life rich in possibilities.

‘It was a much less tolerant world then than it is today and that was a real struggle. Coming here (St Andrew’s) made a big difference to me.’

Surprising health diagnosis

While competing on Strictly Come Dancing back in 2017, Richard recevied a surprising diagnosis after undergoing a medical to take part in the show.

He revealed at the time: ‘I have arthritis in both knees and tinnitus in my ear. The arthritis came up when I did my Strictly medical but I had already suspected all was not well.

‘My knees were creaky and I had pain sometimes. My right knee in particular doesn’t like going up and down stairs. Now I’m trying to do a bit of cycling to keep them flexible.’

He has also revealed that he first began to suffer with tinnitus in his 40s, and blamed it on the loud pop music he performed in his youth.

Describing the condition as ‘very frustrating,’ he described it as ‘like something from the National Grid kind of powering through your ear.’

‘It is very common for people who worked in pop music to end up with tinnitus in their 40s and 50s. It’s like a constant whistling in my ear, more on my right side,’ he added.

Struggles with grief

Richard has previously shared the devastation he suffered after his partner David’s death, following a battle with alcoholism. 

Writing in his memoir, Richard shared that David suffered with liver disease, and recalled the heartbreaking moment he found him in the guest room with a bucket of vomit and blood. 

Phoning an ambulance, David was rushed to hospital, but died several days later.

Reflecting on the loss, Richard said: ‘I wish I’d spent more time with David. I wish I’d prioritised doing nothing with David more. Not seeing that as a holiday from things, but as the centre of things.’

‘I’m completely f***** up about it still. It messed my f****** life up. And I have this anger. I’m angry when people speak in a way that means they think you should be over it. It’s not a cold.’