Tony Bellew has shared his heartbreak over the death of his beloved nan as he gets ready to head into the I’m A Celebrity jungle.
The former champion boxer took to Instagram to pay tribute with a set of sweet photos together and wrote: “Goodnight Nan! I’ll love you forever girl… An amazing mother to me Mum in what I can only imagine was a difficult time, You carried me and my 3 brothers like we was yours! I can’t lie it was like having 2 Mums! You always put us straight and told us off! You was the boss of our house.. 97 years old! You was a lady and a boss right to the end… I love you Nan. #RIPNan.”
His friends and fans took to the comments to wish him well, with Paddy McGuinness writing with a heart emoji: “RIP cut from a different cloth that generation.” While another commented: “Can’t even begin to imagine what this lady saw throughout her long life. 97 is one hell of an innings. She must’ve had to face all sorts of adversity that folks nowadays couldn’t even begin to fathom.”
Tony won’t be making an appearance on the show this evening but he will likely appear alongside Frankie Dettori as a late arrival. I’m A Celeb kicks off its 23rd series this evening with 10 celebrities launched into the Australian jungle to face their darkest fears – which, for some, included a fellow campmate. Joining the likes of Josie Gibson and Nella Rose is controversial former politician Nigel Farage, whose co-star and maître d’ extraordinaire Fred Sirieix has already voiced his vehement dislike of online.
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Meanwhile, Jamie Lynn Spears had already proved to be a bit of a headache for I’m A Celebrity bosses after refusing to take part in media chats prior to entering the jungle. While it is not required by their contract to speak to journalists ahead of starring on the ITV show, it is incredibly rare for a celebrity to not do so. A TV source told the Mirror: “It is disappointing Jamie Lynn wouldn’t speak to journalists out in Australia. She kept her head down at Brisbane airport which is fair enough after a long flight, but it is highly unusual to not take part in the media chats whilst waiting to go into camp this week.
“In fact, it is almost unprecedented and even Boy George took part last year when he has rarely done interviews for a decade. The last contestant we can remember to refuse to do the pre-show interviews was David Gest, and that was back in 2006. It is not a great sign if you are hoping Jamie Lynn is going to be hugely talkative on the show and give up lots of goss about Britney. Hopefully, she finds her voice in camp.”
Fans have also threatened to boycott the show after it was reported that Nigel Farage was paid £1.5million to take part. More than 1,000 people have sent complaints to Ant and Dec who are already down under ahead of filming and further celebrity arrivals.
ITV responded to the backlash, saying in a statement: “I’m A Celebrity has always featured a diverse cast from all areas of public life and has a history of featuring political figures throughout its 20 years on screen. As with any camp mate, viewers are invited to form their own opinions when the show begins on Sunday.”
*I’m A Celebrity airs tonight at 9pm on ITV and ITVX
