Richard Madeley ‘could return to I’m A Celebrity in future’ after early exit

Richard Madeley could return to I’m A Celebrity in future, it’s been claimed.

The TV presenter was forced to quit the series this week after leaving the camp for a hospital check up.

Although Richard was given the all clear by medics, because he left the camp he wasn’t able to return due to Covid guidelines.

While Richard won’t be back on the show this year, sources have claimed we may well see him return in the future.

“Richard was the star signing. ITV has wanted him on the show for years and everyone was expecting TV gold,” an insider told The Sun newspaper.

They added: “They are deciding whether the door remains open to him in future, or if his I’m A Celebrity experience is over for good.”

Following his exit, Richard spoke to Ant and Dec about his time on the show in Friday night’s episode.

He explained his reasons for signing up, revealing: “One of the reasons I wanted to do it, and I said yes this year as opposed to no all the years before, I was developing a real curiosity about what it’s like actually psychologically.

“I know what the games are like, I’ve done a few when I’ve been out on the ITV2 show in Australia. But I wanted to see what it was actually like, almost journalistically, in a nice way, from the inside. And that was a revelation.”

And asked what was the toughest bit he said: “Night time, sleeping, because we had very thin mattresses, much thinner than in the top camp and not very warm sleeping bags. Really cheap, frankly, sleeping bags.

“And covered in straw, on the floor, very thin, it was freezing in there. We were always cold. We had to get all of our clothes out of our bag and put them over us to keep us warm at night.”

Meanwhile it’s been reported that Richard will still get paid his fee despite his early exit.

Although it’s never officially revealed just how much celebs are paid, it’s claimed Richard was this year’s highest paid star with a rumoured £200,000 pay cheque.

Hosted by Ant & Dec, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here continues nightly at 9PM on ITV and ITV Hub.

This year’s series is once again being filmed in Gwrych Castle in Wales.

Picture: ITV