For this year’s X Factor contestant Jake Quickenden, going into the jungle is a dream come true.
Readily admitting he hasn’t stopped grinning since he was asked to go on I’m A Celebrity, the 26-year-old singer says he has to keep pinching himself that he is joining other celebrities around the campfire.
“Things like this don’t happen to me,” he says. “I am just a normal bloke.
“I said yes straight away. It is such an amazing show. I used to watch it with my older brother and we both said we’d love to do it one day. It’s a real adventure and it is going to be so much fun.
“I am going to take this opportunity with both hands. I want to relish everything that is thrown at me. I actually haven’t stopped grinning since I got offered this.”
He bursts out laughing before adding: “And I will look forward to getting my teeth into everything - but who knows what I am getting my teeth into?!”
Leaving the luxuries of the X Factor house behind to live simply in the jungle with nothing but a hammock as a bed will not be too problematic for Jake.
Says the singer: “The difference between the X Factor house and the jungle is really extreme but I love chatting to people and listening to people.
“It is such a shock when you leave the X Factor house and so it will be nice to be around people again. I can’t wait!”
Lack of food is going to be the biggest problem for Jake.
“I was eating like a horse when I left the X Factor house and so I am going to really miss my food,” he admits. “I had no time to prepare for the experience beforehand and I know I probably will go a bit mad on no food but I am not going to complain. I am so happy to be part of this.”
He says he is determined not to let his fellow celebrities down.
“I am not keen on rats but I don’t mind heights or water,” he says. “I like physical challenges and I will give them a go. The eating trials are funny but I will do them. I am happy to do everything.”
Describing himself as easy going, he reveals bad manners do, however, annoy the X Factor contestant. “I don’t get wound up that easily but I don’t like bad manners,” he stresses. “If someone is being rude, that’s not nice.”
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Given he has just taken part on one of the country’s biggest music shows, is he now turning his back on a singing career? Definitely not, replies Jake. “Music is what I want to do,” he says. “I’ve already got some songs written that I’d love to release on an album one day. But this is not going to hurt anyone and it is such an amazing opportunity.”
So what does he think Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Louis Walsh and his own mentor, Mel B, will say when they discover he is going on I’m A Celebrity?
“I am sure they will have a little giggle,” chuckles Jake. “It will be pretty funny. At the end of the day I am not doing anything wrong. I really have landed on my feet and it is so nice. If I hadn’t left the X Factor, I probably would not have been offered this. Doing I’m A Celebrity could open up so many different doors.”
As for whether Jake, who says he is currently single, will be bursting into song around the campfire and the TV reality star thinks it could backfire on him. “I’d probably annoy people if I sang all the time,” he says. “I just want to have a laugh with everyone.”
And how would it feel to be crowned King of the Jungle? “Oh I don’t want to think about that,” he replies. “If you do win it, it is acceptance that people like you for who you are. But I am not going in there to win. This is all about having fun…”
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