An I’m a Celeb moment featuring GB News star Nigel Farage recalling an encounter with former US President Donald Trump has been cut from production, it has been claimed.
It comes after an episode that featured very little of the former Brexit Party leader.
Reporting from Australia, GB News reporter Ben Leo said he has heard on “good authority” that ITV execs are making a conscious effort to limit Farage’s screen time.
“I have discovered a rather bombshell revelation which I am fairly certain is true”, he said.
“If anyone has watched tonight’s show, they will be wondering why the only contribution from Nigel was him saying ‘I love the Jungle, it’s beautiful’.
“Of course, he has been barred from some trials on medical reasons, he has a dodgy back. I’ve discovered that a couple of days ago, Nigel had a discussion about his ally and good friend Donald Trump.
“The campmates seemed very interested, but we have not seen that on television. Why have ITV not played that?”
Leo added that it “plays into reports” that ITV bosses are looking to hinder Farage’s hope of appealing to younger voters.
He said: “You would have thought, Donald Trump being one of the most popular and controversial figures in the world, why haven’t they played that?
“It plays into reports that we’ve seen in recent days that lefty ITV producers don’t want to give him airtime because they don’t agree with him politically.”
An ITV spokesperson told GB News in response to the claims: “We are a 60–75-minute Entertainment show and the content featured is a fair and accurate representation of life in camp.”
Speaking on whether they are looking to limit Farage’s time on screen, a spokesperson previously said: “It is always our intention to broadcast a show that is a fair and accurate representation of life in camp for all our celebrities.”
It comes after Farage was embroiled in a feisty Brexit debate with Fred Sirieix, who accused the GB News star of “destroying the economy”.
The former politician turned GB News presenter called it “absolute b*****ks” and said there are issues in European economies.
Sirieix also said: “One thing they said during the Brexit vote is ‘we’re going to get £350 million a week that we can redirect to the NHS and build new hospitals and free care and all that’. Never happened.”
Farage told the Bush Telegraph that the French maitre d’hotel “loves the European Union” which is “fine”.
He added: “Fred can’t help himself occasionally. Occasionally, that bubbling resentment and anger brim up to the surface.”
