Nigel Farage has been chosen by the public to take part in the next bushtucker trial after coming face to face with snakes in his debut on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

The former Ukip and Brexit Party leader will be joined by YouTuber Nella Rose in the Jungle Pizzeria for the next gruesome challenge in the ITV show.

He was introduced in the first episode of the new series of the hit programme, saying: “I’m known for politics, for Brexit, and I’m a hero to some people and an absolute villain to millions.

“In the jungle you’re going to find the real me. You might like me more, you might dislike me more, but you will at least find out.

“The best way to handle conflict is to tackle it head on. I dealt with snakes in the European Parliament, I can cope with this too.”

He is joined on the show by names including Jamie Lynn Spears, the sister of pop superstar Britney, This Morning host Josie Gibson and TV presenter Fred Sirieix.

Also in the mix this year are food critic Grace Dent, reality star Sam Thompson, JLS singer Marvin Humes, former EastEnders actress Danielle Harold and Hollyoaks actor Nick Pickard.

Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly opened the first episode of the new series of the programme saying: “Tonight the talking stops and the adventure begins… strap yourself in for the ride of your lives.”

After the opening credits the duo made a joke about Farage’s GB News show when they offered an apology to the channel’s viewers for the fact he will not be presenting his programme while he is away in Australia.

They said: “Sorry Keith, sorry Linda.”

Farage, Rose and Gibson got a surprise when they arrived in the Australian Outback, rather than the jungle.

Dressed in green chinos and a pink shirt, Farage and his two colleagues had to complete tasks to win time for campmates taking part in other challenges on the Gold Coast, in a bid to win stars and food.

Farage and Rose used their mouths to hunt for tokens inside a campervan full of snakes, unable to use their hands, while Gibson rummaged in murky barrels.

The trio earned six tokens between them, winning their fellow contestants six minutes of time.

Thompson, Harold, Sirieix and Dent arrived by helicopter on the top of a Gold Coast skyscraper and had to climb down the side before inching sideways along the building and sliding down to a horizontal pole in a race against the clock to unclip carabiners to release their star print flag within the time won by the trio in the Outback.

All four completed the challenge in the allotted time, winning four stars.

The remaining three campmates, Spears, Pickard and Humes, skydived into a clearing before completing a bushtucker trial in which they were covered in green ants, cockroaches, worms and spiders as they completed puzzles.

They collected a full set of six stars.

When the celebrities had all congregated in the jungle camp, they had a full meal of kangaroo hide after collecting 10 stars between them.

At the end of the debut episode, Ant and Dec broke the news to the campmates that the public had voted for Farage and Rose to complete the next bushtucker trial, entitled Jungle Pizzeria.

Farage did not appear to be surprised at the news.

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! continues on ITV and ITVX.