£500k? Deal! Noel Edmonds to join I’m A Celebrity jungle
NOEL Edmonds has been named as a contestant in this year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
The former Deal Or No Deal presenter, 69, will be a surprise addition to ten other celebrities in the Australian jungle in the programme later this month.
His appearance will reportedly earn him as much as £500,000 – the same fee as former football manager Harry Redknapp.
Edmonds, who once hosted Noel’s House Party, will be one of the biggest names in the popular ITV show, alongside actor John Barrowman and DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles.
Edmonds has been locked in a £60million legal battle with Lloyds Bank over his media business’s failure in 2007, an episode he said left him close to suicide.
He has claimed his entertainment company, Unique Group, was destroyed by ‘large-scale industrial fraud’ at HBOS, which was rescued by Lloyds following the 2008 financial crisis. Lloyds has set aside £100million for claims.
When asked about the reported £500,000 fee, sources close to the star told the Mail: ‘I don’t think it’s that much – but it’s certainly one of their biggest ever bookings.’
They added that Edmonds was approached to do the reality show last year but didn’t feel the time was right. ‘Now, with the court case coming up, he felt it would be good to keep some visibility,’ the source said.
Now in its 18th series, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! will see long-term presenter Ant McPartlin, 42, absent for the first time following his arrest for drinkdriving this year. He has been replaced by Holly Willoughby alongside Declan Donnelly.
Edmonds, who has four daughters and has been married three times, is thought to have had a heart to heart with McPartlin in January in which he spent over an hour ‘counselling’ the troubled star.
Other celebrities taking part on this year’s programme include former EastEnders star Rita Simons, Coronation Street actress Sair Khan, Inbetweeners actress Emily Atack and Hollyoaks actor Malique Thompson-Dwyer.
‘It’s one of their biggest bookings’