Former MP booted out of jungle

Lembit Opik was booted out of the jungle tonight, becoming the second contestant to leave 'I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!'

The former MP found himself alongside Linford Christie with the fewest public votes.

Speaking to hosts Ant and Dec after leaving the jungle, he said he would miss his fellow contestants.

“We’re a real close team. There’s a real sense of team spirit so I will miss them,” he said.

“It exceeded my expectations in a good way. First of all, I think I can survive the jungle.

“Just in terms of my outlook, in relative hardship you can learn a lot about yourself from that.”

Asked about food nutritionist Gillian McKeith, who has attracted headlines for her fainting episodes, Opik said: “Gillian has had an incredible journey. She basically was phobic about insects and confined spaces, creepy crawlies and fish - everything this show is about.

“I kept telling her, ’Insects are your friends’ and she really tried to conquer it.”

The ousted Lib Dem politician also said he had now overcome his fear of snakes after being bitten by one during a challenge.

He was nipped on a finger after he thrust his hand into a box containing an angry snake in an effort to avoid elimination from the ITV1 show.

Earlier on the programme, Jenny Eclair and Alison Hammond faced a Starbugs challenge as they went for a drink at a coffee shop with a difference.

They drank gruesome concoctions including drinks made of turkey innards and maggots to win eight stars to feed the celebrities.

Hammond admitted it was a “nightmare” and could not drink the Eye-Latte, made of blended pig and fish eyes, or the Shocka Mocha made from beach worms in brine.

Eclair did better but said she had to pass on Miced Tea made from blended mice tails “on ethical grounds as people have them as pets”.

The atmosphere in the camp was not helped after Dom Joly was told to drop three stink bombs as part of a challenge to win goodies for the celebrities.

He was teamed up with Stacey Solomon who had to tell every other contestant that she loved them. The pair also had to empty the water bags without anyone noticing.

Joly let the first stink bomb off behind Aggro Santos and Eclair with the rapper putting the blame on sprinter Linford Christie.

Meanwhile, Gillian McKeith’s attempt to bond with Shaun Ryder fell flat with the former Happy Monday’s frontman telling the Bush Telegraph that if she was his wife she “would be in pieces in a plastic bag deep in a hole in the back garden”.

The nutritionist, who has upset fellow contestants on 'I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!' by refusing to take part in challenges, was oblivious and claimed Ryder was “a pussycat”.

She has not impressed Dom Joly either. He correctly guessed she was the celebrity who had been the subject of the most internet searches, adding that he thought it was her because “she is the most irritating woman I’ve ever seen on TV”.

Yesterday, Sheryl Gascoigne said she was “delighted” after being knocked out of the ITV show first.

The ex-wife of footballer Paul Gascoigne had least support in the public vote for the first eviction.

She told ITV’s 'Daybreak': “I’m delighted to be out, yes, truly I am.”

She also expressed sympathy for McKeith, saying: “I really don’t believe she knew what she was getting into.

“She has a major, major phobia – I don’t know why she came on the show.”