Nigel Farage would be horrified I’m A Celeb showed him naked in the shower, says close friend

NIGEL Farage was not on banking on baring his bottom to the nation – and will be horrified it was aired by ITV, his close friend has claimed.

Alex Phillips – who has known the former politician since 2007 – was among the first to know about Nigel‘s £1.5million offer to sign up for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.

But she wasn’t prepared to see her former boss appear naked on screen after advising him to “go for it”.

Just two episodes in, Nigel has already chowed down on a penis pizza and been called “shameful” in a clash with Fred Sirieix about Brexit.

But the moment that has raised eyebrows the most so far was Nigel stripping off in the jungle shower.

“I don’t think Nigel’s ever watched an episode of I’m A Celeb in his life and probably didn’t even know it would be shown,” says his ex-aide Alex, in an exclusive interview with The Sun.

“When Nigel comes out and he sees that footage has been used, I don’t think he’s going to be thinking ‘that’s great, that’s the image I wanted the nation to see’.

“I guess he’s a roll your sleeves up, take everything off and get on with things, kind of person.

“But I don’t think going around naked all the time is necessarily a Nigel habit.”

TV presenter Nigel is thought to be plotting a political comeback – and hopes being on I’m A Celebrity will help to connect him with a younger audience.

The former UKIP and Brexit Party leader is known for being a “divisive” figure in politics – admitting he is “a hero” to some and “a villain” to others.

Within a day of being in the jungle, Nigel was accused of “demonising migrants” by First Dates Frenchman Fred as they discussed Brexit.

But according to Alex, the 59-year-old won’t be fazed by hostility from his fellow campmates.

She said: “Nigel is used to people calling him all sorts of names under the sun and making very personal attacks against him, like ‘you’re a racist’, ‘you’re a xenophobe’, ‘you’re this, you’re that’.

“That is what Nigel put himself through knowingly for decades, he’s used to that. It must hurt him to some degree because he’s actually a very emotional person, very soft and quite paternal.

“He’s driven largely by this motivation of love for his country, so I think for him, it’s a sacrifice that’s always been worth it.

“And so if anybody’s going to be the best at dealing with acrimony in that camp it’s him because he’s led a political party and nothing’s more acrimonious than a political party.

“The interesting thing about, UKIP and the Brexit Party is, as a leader, he inspires loyalty and camaraderie and always says to people, ‘things aren’t worth doing unless you’re having fun at the same time’.

“He’s a joy-giver and a life-liver. People who know him personally and those who work with him have a great time. You work hard, but it’s always with a big smile on your face.”

As well as facing potentially prickly campmates, Nigel will also be forced to endure limited food, tough weather conditions and outdoor challenges.

“Nigel is a man who likes challenges and wants to live life, not just sit behind a desk,” Alex added.

“He likes the outdoors – he’s a hunting, shooting, fishing type – he thinks it’s all great fun.

“His way of relaxing is going out on a boat on a rough sea day and fishing at five o’clock in the morning. He likes wild and wind swept.

“He won’t care about the outdoorsy side of things.”

Alex insists it’ll be “water off a duck’s back to him” – and she can’t wait to see Nigel “in his element”.

The pair worked together when Alex was UKIP’s head of media before she served as a Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the South East England constituency from 2019 to 2020.

The 39-year-old now works as a presenter on TalkTV.

Earlier this month Alex launched her new weekday show, Cross Talk, with her co-host Kevin O’Sullivan.

The pair present a 30-minute round-up of the headlines at 9.30am followed by their two-hour show at 1pm.