Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me . . . your gear
NOEL EDMONDS made his debut as the emperor of the I’m A Celebrity jungle last night – and immediately made former soccer manager Harry Redknapp his right-hand man.
Dressed in Roman gear, with a purple cloak and gold crown, the 69-year-old Deal Or No Deal star strode on to a colosseum set to be introduced to the other contestants on the show.
Host Declan Donnelly told them: ‘You are no longer masters of your own destiny. Your fate will be decided by a new camp leader. All hail the emperor.’
Edmonds then walked out to a fanfare, saying: ‘Hail! And rain. And some sunny periods later!’ – a reference to the Australian weather.
He will not have to take part in any of the usual bug-munching tasks and was allowed to pick one of the contestants as his adviser.
Redknapp, 71, was crowned with a laurel wreath and given his own Roman outfit.
Earlier this year Redknapp swapped the Premier League for the GAA, taking part in the AIB mini-series The Toughest Rivalry as he took over the reins at Castlehaven Gaelic football team.
Earlier yesterday, Edmonds launched a £30million (€34million) claim against Lloyds bank.
He is expected to use his stint on I’m A Celebrity to draw attention to his long battle with the company.
Edmonds claims his firm, Unique Group, was destroyed when bankers committed a £1billion (€1.13billion) fraud at HBOS, which Lloyds rescued at the height of the financial crisis.
Lloyds says it cannot be held responsible for what happened to his company.
‘Hail! And rain and some sun’