The line-up for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here 2023 has officially been announced – and this season is shaping up to be a wild one.
All the rumours that have been swirling this week – fuelled by Nigel Farage boarding a flight to Australia – have come true, with this year’s cast of campmates including Jamie-Lynn Spears, Sam Thompson and Grace Dent.
The hit ITV show will be returning to screens on Sunday 19 November, with brand new line-up of celebrities heading to the Australian bush.
Over the coming weeks the famous campmates will battle everything from food rations to the notorious Bushtucker Trials, leaving their usual luxuries far behind.
The madness will once again be overseen by Ant and Dec.
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Also on this year’s I’m A Celebrity 2023 line-up are This Morning‘s Josie Gibson, Fred Sirieix of First Dates fame (which films in Manchester), and YouTuber Nella Rose.
They’ll be joined by soap stars Danielle Harold (from Eastenders) and Nick Picard (Hollyoaks).
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The most controversial addition to the jungle so far is Nigel Farage, with viewers labelling ITV ‘a disgrace‘ for signing him up to the hit show.
The GB News presenter believes he’ll face a number of Bushtucker trials because ‘millions hate him’.
Nigel Farage will controversially join I’m A Celebrity 2023’s line-upJamie-Lynn Spears leads this year’s I’m A Celebrity castFred Sirieix joins the I’m A Celebrity 2023 line-up
Farage said: “I want to test myself. Business, politics, media, I’ve done so many different jobs and generally I have been reasonably successful. But I have never been tested in quite this way. It’s such a mental test and maybe I will discover who I really am.”
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He added: “Given millions hate me, I do expect people will vote for me to do trials! My crime was to stand against an establishment view and I was for many years the lone voice saying Europe wasn’t where we should be, so I have been a little bit demonised. I am hoping those who hate me might hate me a little bit less afterwards. But it’s a gamble.
“And the idea that somehow the things I represent – mean-spirited, small-minded, nasty, the ‘little Englander’ – all those accusations that have been flung at me over the years just aren’t true. If we can dispel some of those misconceptions, then that will be a good thing too.”
Jamie-Lynn Spears, actress, singer, and sister of Britney, is another famous face on this year’s I’m A Celebrity line-up.
She should be a fun watch, admitting she’s ‘absolutely frightened’ of all the creepy crawlies and terrifying heights involved in the show’s Bushtucker Trials.
Hollyoaks legend Nick Pickard will also join I’m A Celebrity’s 2023 line-upI’m A Celebrity 2023’s line-up includes food critic Grace DentMarvin Humes from JLS is heading into the I’m A Celebrity jungle
She said: “Everything I have seen I have been afraid of. Absolutely every one of these trials I am dreading. I haven’t looked at any of them and thought, ‘Oh cool, I could do that one’. This is going to be terrifying.”
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Former Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson, whose girlfriend Zara McDermott just finished a stint on Strictly Come Dancing, said that he recently tried to test his camping skills but gave up and went home at 10pm… which bodes well for the jungle.
This Morning‘s Josie Gibson has warned she has a gripping fear of creepy crawlies; Channel 4 star Fred Sirieix so afraid of ‘everything’ he’s been having nightmares about the jungle; and YouTuber Nella Rose so frightened of bugs she once ‘moved out’ because a daddy long legs was in her bedroom.
The I’m A Celebrity 2023 line-up is completed by food critic Grace Dent (phobias: horrible people… her and Nigel should be a fun watch); JLS singer Marvin Humes; Eastenders’ Danielle Harold; and long-standing Hollyoaks icon Nick Pickard.
Iconic Manc movie 24 Hour Party People is set to return to cinemas for its anniversary
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most iconic movies is set to return to the big screen next month.
Remastered in 4K and returning to UK cinemas to mark 24 years since its original release, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 biographical comedy drama film, 24 Hour Party People, tells the story of Manchester‘s popular music community from 1976 to 1992 – specifically about Factory Records‘ founder Tony Wilson.
The film begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s, before moving through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture, and of course, the ‘Madchester‘ scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The narrative largely follows the career of Tony Wilson, played by Middleton-born actor Steve Coogan, while also covering the careers of the major Factory Records artists – especially Joy Division and New Order, as well as A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and Happy Mondays.
If you haven’t seen 24 Hour Party People before, it’s a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, and urban legends, as the film is sure to make clear.
Coogan is joined by a cast by a mixture of big names and, at the time, rising stars like Paddy Considine, Shirley Henderson, Lennie James, John Simm, Ralf Little, Andy Serkis, Sean Harris, John Thomson, and even Peter Kay, alongside cameos from other figures connected to the Manchester music scene.
Before it returns to cinemas, the film will first open music and media festival/conference, Beyond The Music, at MediaCity in Salford on 6 October.
The screening at the festival will also be followed by a Q&A with Coogan, Winterbottom, and producer Andrew Eaton.
24 Hour Party People will then be re-released in UK cinemas from 9 October, and you can check your local cinema for screening times and book tickets online now.
Featured Image – Altitude
TV & Showbiz
Bury actress Kate O’Flynn wins big at 2026 Emmys with record-breaking comedy show
Emily Sergeant
Did you know that one of the big winners at the 2026 Emmy Awards last night was actually an actress from Bury?
In case it wasn’t on your radar, American television‘s biggest night, the Emmys, took place yesterday evening over in Los Angeles, and several records were broken in the process – including Apple TV’s comedy horror Widow’s Bay taking home the most Emmys ever for a single series of a comedy show, with 14 of them.
Widow’s Bay tells the story of mayor Tom Loftis, played by Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, who is trying to boost tourism on his rugged New England island, but must navigate several strange events that suggest it might be cursed.
Created by Katie Dippold, and executive produced and directed by Hiro Murai, Widow’s Bay was released in late April to widespread critical acclaim.
At the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards last night, the show scooped a record 14 awards, including for Outstanding Comedy Series, several acting wins, and wins for directing and writing too.
One of those acting wins was Kate O’Flynn for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series – an actress who hails from the Greater Manchester town of Bury.
Kate stars as Patricia Moyer, mayor Tom’s eccentric assistant in the show.
She grew up in Holcombe Brook near Ramsbottom, and was educated at Bury Grammar School, before she went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Acting in 2006.
Taking to the stage to accept her award last night, Kate said in her speech: “I want to thank our mayor [Matthew Rhys] and all the residents of Widow’s Bay, in front and behind the camera – you’re amazing. This is the role of a lifetime, thank you Katie and Hiro for trusting a Lancashire lass to play a sassy broad like Patricia. And thank you Apple [TV] for saying yes.
“Thank you Nicky and Tony for looking after me, my family back home, my mum and dad, and the loves of my life, my husband and our darling daughter – another sassy broad in the making.
Daisy Jackson -
13th November 2023 
