Nigel Farage has been applauded for his conduct during a Monday morning interview with Good Morning Britain’s Ed Balls and Susanna Reid.
After narrowly missing out on the I’m A Celeb crown on Sunday to Sam Thompson, Farage silenced naysayers as he finished third out of 12 celebs on the ITV reality series.
While he spoke to Ant and Dec shortly after leaving the jungle, a few hours later he headed to ITV to speak to Balls and Reid.
But Balls and Reid’s line of questioning came under fire as they grilled Farage on his pay packet for heading into the jungle, a possible return to politics and whether or not he was pleased to have finished in the same position as Matt Hancock did last year.
Farage expertly batted away sarcastic probes about the money he received for going into the jungle as he admitted it was a big motivator in joining the show – something the GMB stars weren’t expecting.
He also hit back at Hancock comparisons and slapped back at Balls who snidely commented that Farage would use his jungle stint to “finally” get into the British parliament after failing to do so previously.
Nigel Farage finished third on I’m A Celebrity
ITV/SHUTTERSTOCK
“I tried a lot of times before, you’re quite right, I also won two national elections in European elections leading two different parties – something no one in history has ever done, so I could do with a little bit less of that sort of commentary,” Farage said to a sheepish Balls.
“That was a bit touchy, Nigel,” Balls quipped as Farage went on: “Well if you poke me with a stick, I’ll poke back, don’t worry about that.”
Reid insisted her co-host was “only stating facts” as Farage let out a huge laugh at the pair’s antics before turning more serious and revealing he thinks the Conservative government is a “total shambles”.
“I am looking at a Conservative government that is a total shambles facing tomorrow what is effectively a confidence vote on an issue that affects every single living human being in our country,” Farage hit back.
‘Are you seeking to use your I’m a Celebrity journey to rejoin the Conservatives and finally get into the UK Parliament?’@edballs questions Nigel Farage over a return to politics after he came third in the I’m a Celebrity jungle 🐛🐞🐜 pic.twitter.com/sLU7RaFmuL
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) December 11, 2023
He continued: “Namely immigration on a level that never happened even during Tony Blair’s days.
“Rishi is a lame duck walking, the Conservative Party are heading for total defeat. As to whether I have a future in politics, I have no idea at this moment in time but what I will say is never say never…
“Our country needs people at the top with firm guidance as to where we’re gonna go in the future. At the moment, we are rudderless and I don’t see a Labour Party with the strength to get us out of this mess.”
The interview drew to a close as Farage insisted he wouldn’t return to the Conservative government “at this moment in time”, a statement that prompted Balls to quiz him further on during the interview’s final moments.
While Balls and Reid appeared happy with themselves for trying to slip in a handful of jibes Farage’s way, viewers applauded the GB News star for expertly swatting them away.
WATCH NOW: Nigel Farage’s exit interview on I’m A Celeb
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one fan penned: “#gmb Susannah trying to humiliate #NigelFarage and failing miserably.”
A second agreed: “Susanne is a right s**t stirrer. She got paid for doing strictly didn’t she #GMB.”
Elsewhere, a third slammed: “@susannareid100 trying to do a hatchet job on Nigel Farage but he’s way too clever for you!”
And a fourth blasted: “Notice the difference in the way they interviewed Tony to the way they have Nigel! Biased. #gmb.”
A fifth concurred: “Huge difference between the way these two leftist numpties interview Nigel farage against the other contestants…their sneering contempt is a disgrace but only to be expected when u look at the itv agenda #gmb.”
“I have absolutely loved how fuming people have been that Farage did on #ImACeleb So many cant deal with the fact hes popular #GMB #ImACelebrity,” a sixth weighed in. (sic)
