Angela Rayner was in ‘superior talks’ for I’m A Celebrity: Labour’s ex-deputy dropped out ‘after she was warned there is not any method again to politics frontline if she went within the jungle’
She’s the former deputy prime minister who is said to be mounting a dramatic leadership challenge against Sir Keir Starmer.
But Angela Rayner is understood to have come extraordinarily close to snubbing Westminster for Australia as it was revealed today how she was in advanced talks to join this year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
Rumours had circulated that the former housing secretary was being eyed up by ITV bosses – but it has now emerged that the broadcasting giant ‘felt it was going to happen’.
Insiders say that Ms Rayner was ultimately warned that a return to the frontlines of politics could be off the table if she were to go into the Jungle.
The former deputy PM was forced to resign from her Cabinet roles in September after it emerged that she did not pay £40,000 of stamp duty owed on the purchase of a flat in Hove, East Sussex.
The Prime Minister’s ethics adviser ruled she breached the ministerial code by failing to get tax advice when buying the new house, despite warnings about her complex finances.
When she delivered her resignation speech in the Commons on October 22, Ms Rayner hinted she could return to the Government. And over the weekend, that looked even more certain as it emerged she is lining up a future leadership contest.
But her return to the Westminster bubble is in stark contrast to what she could have been doing over the next few weeks.
Angela Rayner is said to be mounting a leadership challenge against Sir Keir Starmer (pictured at Labour Party conference together in September last year) – but almost joined I’m A Celeb
Hosts Ant and Dec have previously spoken of their desire not to have any more politicians on the show after Nigel Farage’s appearance in 2023
Richard Osman and Marina Hyde today revealed just how close Ms Rayner came to being poached by ITV bosses for a spot on this year’s I’m A Celeb line-up.
Speaking on their The Rest Is Entertainment Podcast, they recalled how hosts Ant and Dec have previously spoken of their desire not to have any more politicians on the show after Nigel Farage’s appearance in 2023.
The Reform leader, who received a £1.5million fee to appear on the show, came third. Previous political figures on the show include Nadine Dorries in 2012, Edwina Currie in 2014, Stanley Johnson in 2017 and Matt Hancock in 2022.
Osman and Hyde said stunt-loving Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey was offered to ITV bosses, but they opted against having another politician.
However, when Ms Rayner emerged as a potential, they simply couldn’t say no, it is understood.
Osman explained: ‘There was another name that came along that I think ITV thought would be impossible to say no to.’
Hyde added: ‘It would have been impossible to say no to Angela Rayner going on it. Now, she got really quite far and her people in talks to do this. And what a moment for her.
‘If you thought last week was chaotic for Labour, try and imagine this week if Angela Rayner was now basically running a proxy leadership campaign by the meme of eating kangaroo testacles on ITV prime time.’
The host added: ‘Obviously she wants to return to frontline politics and that’s very clear… Were she to do this, you are leaving during parliamentary time. It would be fun seeing the fallout of the Budget next week while she’s eating emu anus.’
Nigel Farage received a £1.5million fee to appear on the show in 2023 and came third
‘Which by the way, we will all be doing after the Budget next week,’ Osman quipped.
Hyde said Ms Rayner ‘would have been an absolutely terrific booking’ had it not been for her return to politics getting in the way.
‘I think what happened is obviously she does wish to return to frontline politics,’ she said.
‘It was made clear that were she to do something like this, there wouldn’t be a way back. By the way I don’t think the people who would have made that clear are in a position to say who does or doesn’t have a way back.
‘We’ll have to wait and see but sadly that booking did not occur.’
Hinting at just how far it got, Osman revealed that ‘ITV felt this maybe was going to happen’ with Hyde adding: ‘I think they felt it got very far.’
It comes after it emerged Ms Rayner was laying the groundwork for a leadership challenge against her former leader, Sir Keir Starmer.
Sources told The Telegraph that she was already offering Cabinet roles to MPs in exchange for their support.
However, a source close to Ms Rayner dismissed the claims as ‘total rubbish’ and insisted she was ‘focus on representing her local community’.
In her first major interview over the weekend, Ms Rayner condemned the ‘arrogant tittle-tattle’ and Labour infighting which dominated headlines last week.
And she declined to rule out running for the top job or returning to frontline politics, insisting she had ‘not gone away’.
The Mail has contacted Labour for comment. ITV declined to comment.
