Voted out! MSP Kezia leaves the jungle after just 11 days
AS a Scottish Labour MSP, she should be well accustomed to disappointing election results.
But former party leader Kezia Dugdale last night spoke of her relief at being voted out of the jungle after only 11 days.
She left the I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! camp in Australia after proving the least popular contestant with viewers.
She and pop star Vanessa White faced eviction – but the politician was given the axe.
The 36-year-old had survived the public vote on Friday, when Iranian-born comedian Shappi Khorsandi left the show.
Miss Dugdale made her debut at the end of last month and immediately faced the gruesome challenge of sifting through maggots, raw meat, crabs and pungent fish guts to try to win prizes for her team.
She faced two more trials – drinking a pig anus milkshake and the ‘Fear Factory’, when she was suspended in a cage surrounded by meal worms and green ants. But she struggled to win public favour and soon became the bookmakers’ favourite to be the first to leave.
Producers were also believed to be disappointed with Miss Dugdale, reportedly saying she was ‘acting superior’ and failing to bond with her fellow campmates.
Speaking to show hosts Ant and Dec last night, she said: ‘I would have been pleased to have stayed but I’m delighted to go as well. I’m just so hungry. I just want a bacon roll and a cup of coffee. But I’ve had 11 amazing days.’
Asked if she found it difficult being a politician on the show, she said: ‘It is the biggest show in the UK and I was delighted to be able to talk about things I care about and to show that not all politicians look like Stanley [Johnson, father of Boris and a former Tory MEP] and are white, old, male and stale.’ She said ‘boredom is the killer’ in the camp – and tipped boxer Amir Khan to become king of the jungle, adding: ‘I think Amir will win but I would like one of the girls to win.’
As she left, Miss Dugdale was met by her former political adviser, Alan Roden. Her partner, Nationalist MSP Jenny Gilruth, chose not to travel to Australia.
Miss Dugdale claimed she would use the show as a platform ‘to promote Labour policy’ but political discussion was confined to quips between her and Mr Johnson.
She did not receive Labour’s permission to appear on the programme and the party’s business manager James Kelly said she would be interviewed on her return to Scotland.