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Nigel Farage referenced the time he survived a plane crash during Tuesday night’s episode of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.
In the lead-up to the general election in 2010, Farage suffered a punctured lung, two chipped vertebrae, several fractured ribs and a fractured sternum after the aircraft plunged to earth.
At the time, the controversial politician was the leader of Ukip and was beginning his Brexit campaign to encourage the nation to back the ‘Leave’ campaign to exit the European Union.
In an interview with The Sun, he confirmed that the injuries he has sustained in previous accidents will mean that he is exempt from some of I’m a Celeb’s physical challenges.
“Anything involving weightlifting, I’d be out because I’ve obviously had some quite serious physical injuries and neck reconstructions and goodness knows what else,” the 59-year-old said.
“So they are fully aware that I’m a little bit damaged when it comes to bodily structure. But having said that, I can still do most things.”
On I’m A Celebrity, Farage discussed the accident, recalling what his “final thoughts” were when he was convinced he was “about to die”.
This Morning presenter Josie Gibson asked: “What were you doing at the time when you were flying a plane, where were you going?”
A light aircraft lies in a field at Hinton Airfield after crashing on May 6, 2010 in Brackley, England
(Getty Images)
Farage admitted: “Being an idiot, flying a banner.”
First Dates star and fellow campmate Fred Sirieix asked: “What was on the banner?”
“A Brexit message, obviously…” Farage replied.
Sirieix asked: “What was the message?”
Farage replied: “Vote for independence or something like that.”
“I don’t recall being unconscious, but I do recall the explosion, the plane flipping over, being stuck in there, everything broken… every rib front and back, split sternum, punctured lung… it was bad,” Farage said of his injuries.
Hollyoaks star and fellow campmate Nick Pickard then asked: “How long were you hospitalised for?”
Farage said: “Not as long as I should have been, I discharged myself, I got bored.”
A pilot named Justin Adams was flying the two-seater light aircraft streaming a Ukip campaign banner behind it when it crashed in 2010.
The plane crashed in Brackley, Northamptonshire, and an inquiry later found that the banner had become entangled, causing the plane to nosedive. Mr Adams and Farage both needed treatment for serious injuries.
The pilot, Mr Adams, was eventually cleared of any blame. Mr Adams had claimed that his life had fallen apart following the plane crash. He accused Mr Farage of “ruining his life” and became angry that the official investigation had taken so long to complete.
He blamed the inquiry for the break-up of his marriage and the failure of his business because he could not file an insurance claim until it had concluded.
Mr Adams claimed he had been “evicted” from his family home, forced to live with his elderly mother and “incarcerated” in her house.
In 2011, he was convicted of five counts of making threats to kill Mr Farage and the Civil Aviation Authority investigator Martin James. Mr Justice Saunders sentenced Mr Adams to a two-year community order after the court heard he repeatedly threatened Mr Farage, both directly and through a 999 operator.
Mr Adams was found dead at his home in 2013. His death was not treated as suspicious.
Farage’s appearance on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! has already proved controversial, thanks to his well-documented right-wing views on topics such as immigration and the gender pay gap, with some fans threatening to boycott the series.
I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! airs Sunday to Friday at 9pm and Saturday at 9.30pm on ITV.
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