Royal family tight-lipped on Mike Tindall's upcoming I’m a Celebrity appearance
The family of any celebrity who takes part in a reality television show might expect to be consulted beforehand.
They might also tune in with some trepidation amid fears that family secrets might be revealed under pressure from savvy producers.
Whether the Princess Royal or other senior royals will be watching the forthcoming series of I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! with similar concerns is unknown.
Buckingham Palace did not deny on Monday night that Mike Tindall had sought advice before entering the Australian jungle.
Aides refused to be drawn on whether the former England rugby player, who is married to Zara, the King’s niece, had sought permission to take part or whether certain topics were off limits.
A spokesman simply pointed out that he is not a working member of the Royal family.
Mr Tindall, 44, described himself as “an open book” as he confirmed his appearance on the prime-time show, which starts on Nov 6.
He is the first member of the Royal family to take part and has claimed to be more than up for the notorious bushtucker trials that have previously involved eating crickets and sheep testicles.
The father-of-three said he knew his rugby friends would be voting for him to take part in the challenges in order to “stitch him up”.
He described himself as a “morning motivator” and a positive person who “would like to see everyone get on well”.
“If you get the group dynamics right, you should be coming out with some great friendships and some cracking memories,” he said.
Asked what he would miss most, Mr Tindall told ITV: “First and foremost I will miss my family. I will miss my bed too and a nice breakfast.”
Tougher than rugby international
He suggested that the show would be tougher than any rugby international.
“With a rugby game you know what you are going to get and when it gets hard, you know what it looks like,” he said.
“This is something you can’t predict; you don’t know where it will take you and so you can’t really plan for it. Your ability to roll with the punches is something you have got to have.
“Hopefully I have that and I won’t overthink things.”
He revealed that James Haskell, his friend and former I’m A Celebrity contestant with whom he co-presents The Good The Bad & The Rugby podcast, had praised the programme so much that he finally decided to say yes.
Joking that he would not mind taking part in the trials because they would offer a chance to have some “protein”, he added: “I am eight years out of the game now so I am a bit more realistic about food, but I know James said the lack of food can sometimes be hard.”
Mr Tindall’s appearance on the show comes after he appeared in a Domino’s pizza advert in which he joked about his royal connections, saying: “I have friends in high places.”
He is reported to have been paid £150,000 to take part and is likely to gain a host of lucrative endorsement deals on his return.
