This I’m a Celebrity dark horse is going to surprise everyone

The I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! line-up has finally been revealed – and there’s a clear front-runner: TikTok sensation Angry Ginge.

Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of him – you’re not alone. Until he was confirmed as one of the first campmates heading to the jungle this Sunday, I hadn’t either. 

But you can guarantee he’s going to be an enormous success, boasting an astronomical fanbase of more than two million followers on TikTok, many of whom are fiercely passionate and loyal to the 23-year-old (real name Morgan Burtwistle), who is celebrated for his online rants and faux-furious persona.

We saw this last year: GK (‘Grace’) Barry had hugely popular social media fame, amassing millions of followers, but if you’d have the general public who she was, few would have been able to tell you. 

Now she’s a household name and a regular panelist on Loose Women, who was absolutely adored on I’m A Celebrity.

But she didn’t win.

According to the bookies, Angry Ginge is the hot favourite to be crowned King of the Jungle. Behind him are Celebs Go Dating darling Tom Read Wilson – who has long deserved a platform on primetime television – Manchester rapper Aitch, and Spandau Ballet star and all-round music and TV legend Martin Kemp.

All four men would be a safe bet to clinch the crown from last year’s winner, McFly’s Danny Jones. But there’s a dark horse in the line-up, who hasn’t yet been announced and is being severely underestimated – Vogue Williams.

Vogue is set to be the obligatory latecomer who arrives in camp a day or two after everyone else, as if it’s a total shock that doesn’t happen every single year.

The 40-year-old mother of three has had a curious rise to credible celebrity status. For a while, she was best known as Brian McFadden’s wife – turning up at every showbiz event, as a TV presenter who didn’t really present much television.

She was far better known in Ireland than the UK, though her career there was not without controversy, having been sharply criticised in 2017 for a column in which she called for internment camps to host terror suspects.

Williams apologised, but it didn’t seem like true fame was in her future.

Then came My Therapist Ghosted Me in 2021, the hugely successful podcast she co-hosts with best friend and comedian Joanne McNally with tours across the country. 

It’s simple: they gossip and laugh about the week’s pop culture stories, headlines they might have appeared in, and offer what feels like an unfiltered insight into their lives. 

Admittedly, I’d previously written Vogue off as a bit of a celebrity chancer, but today I’m an enormous fan. I absolutely adore her – and I have no doubt she’s prime fodder to win I’m A Celebrity. 

There are plenty of great names and personalities among the line-up, not least the man his own son Roman jokingly termed a ‘nepo Daddy’ – Martin Kemp. 

But I don’t think even his undeniable charm will win viewers over quite like Vogue.

My Therapist Ghosted Me isn’t just a massively successful podcast; it’s a movement. I’ve been to their live show at the London Palladium, and it was an unexpectedly extraordinary experience. 

I’ve never seen Soho packed with so many millennial’s on the lash with piercing screams and adoration that could only be compared to a world-class boyband.

Vogue and Joanne tapped into a massive audience that often gets left behind: the girls who just want to have fun, have zero shame, and are deeply unserious. That audience is also prime I’m A Celebrity territory. 

Perhaps with the exception of Kemp, a national treasure who is rightly loved by all, few of the aforementioned men have a fanbase I can see being as engaged with the show as Vogue’s.

I’ve spoken to several people who’ve all said they’ll be watching I’m A Celebrity for the first time in years because they are as enamoured with Vogue and Joanne as I am.

Podcasting might not bring in the same number of viewers as primetime television, but those listeners hang on their favourite podcasters’ every word. 

They love them, and more importantly, know them. I bet there aren’t many people who you catch up with for an hour or two every single week without fai.

Vogue has presented plenty of middle-of-the-road documentaries, starred in axed reality series and built a relatively successful brand with current husband Spencer Matthews – who was kicked out of the jungle in 2015 for taking steroid-based medication.

That I haven’t even mentioned the Made in Chelsea original is further proof that Vogue is  an incredibly funny and charming star in her own right  – and I think this will be the break she’s long overdue.

Many I’m A Celebrity viewers won’t know Vogue or, like I used to, might have the wrong impression of her. Vicky Pattison was a similar figure when she entered the jungle (also as a latecomer) in 2015 and became one of the show’s biggest success stories, which she is now repeating on this season’s Strictly Come Dancing. 

In one of the best I’m A Celebrity line-ups we’ve had in years – which includes Jack Osbourne, Ruby Wax, Alex Scott, Kelly Brook, Lisa Riley, Eddie Kadi and Shona McGarty – don’t underestimate the impact of Vogue.

 I once made that mistake, and I never will again.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

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