Tory MP Nadine Dorries for 'I'm a Celebrity...'

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Nadine Dorries is to take part in this year's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, it has been revealed.



The Conservative MP said that she is hoping to use the ITV reality show as a platform to discuss her views on reducing the current 24-week time limit for abortions, reports The Mirror.

Landing at Brisbane airport on Monday night, the 55-year-old declared: "I'm doing the show because 16 million people watch it.

"Rather than MPs talking to other MPs about issues in parliament, I think MPs should be going to where people go.

"If people are watching I'm a Celebrity on television, then that is where MPs should be going."

Referring to her stance on abortion, Dorries said: "There are certain causes that I'm interested in, one of which is '20 Weeks'.

"That is why I'm doing the show. I will be talking about this issue around the campfire. I hope there will be some lively, heated debates.

"I'm not going in there to upset people, but I have opinions."

The MP for Mid Bedfordshire, who admitted that she has never seen I'm a Celebrity, joked: "I didn't know it was a real jungle until three weeks ago.

"I'm frightened of rats, but then again I do work with them."

Dorries has previously appeared as a guest star on Have I Got News for You.

Ex-Birds of a Feather actress Linda Robson has also arrived in Australia ahead of the show, while comic Brian Conley, soap stars Charlie Brooks and Helen Flanagan, Doctor Who's Colin Baker and reality TV star Hugo Taylor have also been rumoured to be taking part in recent weeks.

I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! launches on Sunday (November 11) at 9pm on ITV1.

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'I'm a Celeb' MP Nadine Dorries criticised by Conservatives

Conservative MP Nadine Dorries has faced a significant backlash for signing up to take part in ITV1 reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.

Dorries has been an MP for Mid-Bedfordshire since 2005, but it is likely she will miss important votes in the House of Commons and the Chancellor's Autumn Statement while taking part in the series.

Commentators have quickly voiced concerns about her commitment to her constituents and her work as an MP while she is being paid to appear on the entertainment show filmed in Australia.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Dorries's local party association in Mid-Bedfordshire is holding a meeting about her future as MP. The Daily Mail's James Chapman claims that the party didn't know anything about her involvement in the show.

Dorries has said that she wants to take part in the Ant & Dec-hosted series to campaign for reducing the time limit on abortions.

"I'm doing the show because 16 million people watch it. Rather than MPs talking to other MPs about issues in Parliament, I think MPs should be going to where people go," she said.

"Parliament is in half-term while I'm there. I've not done anything to prepare for the jungle. I worked right up until I left the UK for Australia."

Ex-Conservative MP Louise Mensch, who was previously tipped to take part in I'm a Celebrity herself, was vocal in her criticism of Dorries's decision, writing on Twitter: "What did she tell the whips, and how much is she being paid?

"Nadine pretending that a serious issue like abortion rights is why she did this is the lowest of the low. Indefensible stuff."

Dorries's only support came from ex-Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik, who starred on the show in 2010 after losing his seat.

"Good on Nadine Dorries for the jungle if she's really going in. Go gal!" wrote Opik.

Meanwhile, comic David Schneider ‏mocked Dorries's stance on abortion, tweeting: "If you want to eat bugs etc, go for it! A woman has the right to do what she wants with her own body, isn't that right?"

I'm a Celebrity launches on Sunday, November 11 at 9pm on ITV1.

[rebbonk]

I actually think this is terrible.

Whilst she's over there she isn't doing what she's paid (and elected) to do. Perhaps if she stopped making any claims from the public purse whilst she was "otherwise engaged" it might be more palatable?

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'I'm a Celebrity' Nadine Dorries suspended from Tory party

Nadine Dorries has been suspended by the Conservative Party over her appearance in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

The MP has said that she is hoping to use the ITV reality show as a platform to discuss her views on reducing the current 24-week time limit for abortions, and will appear on the programme this weekend.

Chief Whip Sir George Young has said that Dorries did not seek permission to leave the UK for Australia, and has demanded a meeting with her when she returns, reports the Daily Mail.

Conservative MPs have criticised her involvement in the show, which will reportedly see her earning £40,000.

A senior Conservative party source said: "She has been suspended from the party until she meets with George Young when she comes back, when she will have to explain herself.

"The concern is she is not doing her parliamentary duty and serving her constituents."

Chairman of the Mid Befordshire Conservative Association Paul Duckett has also stated that he has been "trying to track her down".

"If that is what she is doing we will be taking a very severe view," he said.

"There is a range of actions open to us, everything from reprimand, de-listing, deselection for the next election."

Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston has also slammed her appearance on the reality show, saying it may damage the image of women in politics.

She said: "I am just dismayed. We want women to be taken seriously. We need to get more women to put themselves up for election. What message does this send out about the job?

"If we want women to be taken seriously we need them to take the job seriously. If you appear on a programme like I'm a Celebrity, your whole role in that is to make yourself look ridiculous for public entertainment.

"Did people vote for Nadine to go to Parliament so she could be a minor celebrity or to do a serious job?

"What I am saying is she has been elected to represent people in Parliament and think there is a point at which you have to decide what you want to be. Do you want to be a celebrity or be taken seriously as an MP?"

I'm a Celebrity launches on Sunday, November 11 at 9pm on ITV1.

Crikey, I never thought when I first posted this subject it was going to become a major news item!

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Nadine Dorries blasted by Bedfordshire voters

Nadine Dorries was reportedly blasted by Bedfordshire voters in Thursday's police commissioner poll.

The vote saw Labour candidate Olly Martins take the new post, with Conservative Jas Parmar narrowly missing out.

BBC News reports many ballots were deliberately spoiled (defaced and discounted), with a total of 2,200 papers being declared "void for uncertainty".

Conservative Central Bedfordshire councillor Nigel Young claimed a number of those directly referred to Mid-Bedfordshire MP Dorries's stint on the Australian jungle reality TV show.

"I think that has caused some disquiet in central Bedfordshire - that their MP is away and is out of the country," Young said.

"I think we are disappointed at the number of spoiled votes. We hope that external factors such as ITV programmes which are running at the moment didn't have an effect on us but perhaps they did."

Dorries has been suspended by the Conservative Party after not informing Prime Minister David Cameron of her appearance on the show.