Richard Madeley has made headlines for his funny, bold, and sometimes bizarre statements while presenting ITV’s Good Morning Britain that have seen him unexpectedly gain fans.
Now the presenter, previously seen on This Morning and Richard & Judy , will be joining fellow stars in the Welsh castle as he appears on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!
He has admitted being apart from wife and co-host Judy Finnegan for more than a month will make him feel “strangely dislocated” as they have never been apart this long since they met.
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The TV host heads into I’m A Celebrity on Sunday but has been in isolation for two weeks already without his wife, and having been married since 1986 and inseparable since, he admits he is already finding it difficult.
“On Sunday, which is when the first show goes out, that’s our 35th wedding anniversary actually,” Richard said.
“So that’ll be the first wedding anniversary that I’ve missed and it’s a big one. I gave her a present before we left and a card which she will open on the day.
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“We’re going to really miss each other. I’ll miss her a huge amount.
“I spend every day of my life with her, either working with her or in the house.
“So yeah, that, I’m already feeling strangely dislocated. She’s my right arm and she’s not here.
“She wasn’t exactly doing back handsprings of delight up the stairs or down the corridor, but I didn’t just do it without talking to her.
“We talked about it and I explained why I thought I probably should do it.
“And she agreed and she thought I would get a lot of pleasure out of it and a lot of stimulation out of it.
“So she said go for it and it will be something to talk about.
“She doesn’t enjoy being on her own but she’s got lots of support from the kids.
“She’s missing me, but she gets it. She’s okay.”
He added: “We will make up for it when I get out.
“I’ll have been freezing my arse off for the last couple of weeks when I get out, in the castle.
“So we’re going to probably go to Florida for a couple of weeks and I’ll thaw out and that’ll be her treat.
“It is the longest time by far we ever spent apart.
“I think the only other time we’ve spent more than a week apart was two or three years ago when I did The Circle on Channel 4, and we were apart for about 10 days.
“And already we’ve been apart for almost two weeks.
“We had to hand in their phones and laptops and everything.
“So I can’t even talk to her anymore.”
Richard, 65, and Judy, 73, first met in 1982, when Richard joined Granada Television to work on programmes alongside a presenting team that included Tony Wilson and Judy.
Judy has said she thought he “looked nice” but thought his suit was “a bit flash”, although they instantly hit it off.
Both married at the time, the attraction was immediate and they had an affair before inevitably marrying four years later and beginning to work on the shows on screen.
Their success then went onto the national level as they fronted the daytime television programme This Morning from 1988 until 2001, and then hosted the daily chat show, Richard & Judy, from 2001 until 2009.
Mum-of-four Judy now spends time out of the spotlight and is a published author but Richard, known for being outspoken on screen, has continued to front shows and most recently has been alongside Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain .
Speaking in his usual forthright way, he says he will have no time for wingers in the castle and is set to blast anyone who complains about doing trials.
He said: “I watch it and occasionally, from time to time, and I won’t name your names, you see a quote ‘celebrity’ unquote who clearly doesn’t want to be there.
“And they get themselves into a terrible state and they start wailing and moaning and they’re moaning about hunger and they’re moaning about the trial.
“And you think, “‘Well, what the f*** did you go in for? Surely you understood what this program was.’
“It’s like getting on a fairground ride and then screaming to get off.
“Well, you must have known that it’s a big dipper.
“You’re going to go up and go around and around. So I can’t understand the… And I hope, I’m sure there’ll be nobody there this time like that.”
Fans expecting some gaffes or moments when Richard puts his foot in it are unlikely to be disappointed with cameras on him 24/7.
But he is keen to play down any mistakes he has made which have seen comparisons with Alan Partridge.
He said: “If the gaffe thing was as frequent and as serious as is sometimes written about, I wouldn’t have a job.
“I would’ve been out of work a long time ago.
“I’m not going to get into a defensive crouch about it, but sometimes I read these things that I’m supposed to have said in the past, and I just didn’t say them.
“There’s nothing you can do about them.
“It’s a bit like seagulls following a trawler, you just have to live with them.
“So I actually don’t think that I make gaffes nearly as often as people tease me about, which is fine. I don’t mind.
“So, no, I’m not too bothered. I’ve done thousands and thousands of hours of live television and I’ve never been sued for libel.
“So I think I’ll be alright.”
Earlier this week viewers were able to vote for which celebrity will do the first trial, and bookmakers had Richard as a favourite.
It seems inevitable he will get chosen for some, but having been to Australia for the ITV2 spin-off show that used to accompany I’m A Celeb, he has already tried a few and sounds relaxed about the prospect.
He said: “I’m lucky, I don’t have any actual phobias. I don’t run in a blind panic if I see a rat or a spider.
“That doesn’t mean that I’m delighted to spend time in their company, particularly on mass. But I think I’ll be okay doing it.
“I guess the two things that will be a challenge are eating all the crap, which you get shoved down your gullet.
“That, you’re just going to have to think of something else to swallow hard.
“And heights. Again, I’m not phobic about heights, but I do not like heights.
“I remember when I was a little boy, I froze in The Whispering Gallery of St Paul’s Cathedral and literally had to be bodily carried out because I couldn’t move. I’m not as bad as that now, but I don’t like heights.
“I think going on this program, it’s a bit like going to a great big party with silly forfeit games, and that’s how I’m regarding it. I’m regarding it very much as a piece of entertainment, not just for people watching it, but for me doing it.”
I’m A Celebrity starts on ITV on Sunday night at 9pm.
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