FORMER Brexit Party and UKIP leader Nigel Farage was due to arrive in the jungle with fellow contestants as ITV's I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here returned to screens on Sunday night.

The 59-year-old ex-MEP was one of three contestants taken to the Australian outback for a series of challenges before joining others in the show's main jungle camp.

Pictures emerged on Sunday ahead of the first episode of the new series, showing Mr Farage wading through a trough of "sticky gunk" as he competed in a challenge.

The controversial politician-turned GB News presenter is believed to be among the highest paid contestants to ever appear on the popular reality TV show, with reports suggesting he is to receive up to £1.5 million to take part.

It has also emerged that he will be exempt from some of the show's infamous Bushtucker Trials due to injuries he received in a plane crash in 2010.

Ahead of his appearance, he told the Sun newspaper that the crash left him with "quite serious physical injuries and neck reconstructions", which meant he would be exempt from some of the more physical challenges in which viewers vote for contestants to undergo.

ITV has faced criticism for including Mr Farage on the show, a year after featuring former UK health secretary Matt Hancock in its 2022 celebrity line-up.

Mr Farage told the Telegraph ahead of his journey to Australia: “I understood why Matt Hancock did it. He went in there with his reputation on the floor.

“I am hoping those who hate me might hate me a little bit less afterwards.”

Other contestants taking part in this year's show include broadcaster and star of Channel 4's First Dates show, Fred Sirieix; actress Jamie Lynn Spears, the sister of pop star Britney Spears, and ITV's This Morning host and former Big Brother winner Josie Gibson.