I'M A CELEBRITY: Ex-Derbyshire MP Edwina Currie poised to replace Gemma Collins

FORMER South Derbyshire MP Edwina Currie is poised to enter the jungle on I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! after a contestant quit. Gemma Collins walked out the camp just three days into the series. The Only Way is Essex reality TV star has endured a difficult time getting to grips with life in the jungle, but her exit is the fastest in the show's fourteen year history. Edwina Currie and X Factor contestant Jake Quckenden are now poised to enter the camp, with former footballer Jimmy Bullard a 15/8 favourite to win. The programme also includes veteran broadcaster Michael Buerk and Coronation Street actor and ex-Red Dwarf star Craig Charles.

Former Tory minister Edwina Currie will be a shock late arrival in the #ImACeleb camp: http://t.co/GFPCOZGXzwpic.twitter.com/nnrHaMstYc

— The Sun (@TheSunNewspaper) November 15, 2014

Former Tory MP Mrs Currie, who occupied South Derbyshire's seat for 14 years between 1983 and 1997, has previously appeared in reality shows Strictly Come Dancing, Wife Swap – when she famously clashed with horse racing expert John McCririck – and Come Dine With Me. Politicians in Burton and South Derbyshire have been quick to give their reaction to Mrs Currie's latest TV appearance – but admitted they would not be quite so willing to take on the bushtucker trials. Current South Derbyshire MP Heather Wheeler said: "I'm absolutely delighted Edwina is showing such vibrancy at the age of 68. She will join an interesting group – I think it is going to be the most watched programme on TV. "I hope I have the same stamina when I'm 68 but I don't think I could manage the bushtucker trials. Snails and frogs legs, fine, but creepy crawlies? No." East Staffordshire Borough Council leader Julian Mott said: "I quite admire her for sticking her head above the parapet and subjecting herself to the ridicule of the British public. I would run a mile."