Lembit Opik made his name as a Liberal Democrats MP serving Montgomeryshire between 1997 and 2010.
After losing his seat to the Tories in the General Election that year, he embarked on a career overhaul and became known to millions as a contestant on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here. However, his charismatic persona in the jungle made him a popular choice for TV bosses for further reality shows.
Indeed, he followed up I’m A Celeb with countless more TV appearances, most notably on Come Dine With Me, Bargain Hunt Famous Finds and Celebrity Juice. The 59-year old has even tried his hand at wrestling – one thing he regrets – and dated Gabriela Irimia of the twin pop duo, The Cheeky Girls.
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Lembit also dated weather presenter Sian Lloyd, whom he partnered on a celebrity edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? before going on to have two children with another ex-partner, Sabina Vankova.
(Image: ExpressStar)
Now, recalling his time in the jungle series with fondness, Lembit joked: “Well the best part was losing weight! I lost 7kg in there so if they asked me to do it again I would just for that reason.
“I made some great friends who I’m still in touch with to this day – Shaun Ryder from Happy Mondays, Linford Christie and Sheryl Gascoigne for instance. There are others I’m not in touch with though!”
(Image: Ken McKay)
Describing the experience, which paved the way for future famous names in politics to take part including Nadine Dorries, Matt Hancock and Nigel Farage, Lembit continued: “It was kind of a new thing for me to do. I was the first politician – or ex-politician as it was – to do the jungle.
“Of course I was pleased I didn’t walk out like many others have done over the years. I stuck it out and was voted off (finishing ahead of Sheryl and actor Nigel Havers).”
Lembit continued: I’m A Celebrity really opened the doors to a lot of shows. Bargain Hunt, Celebrity Come Dine With Me with Jodie Marsh, Debbie McGee and Iain Lee. That was very enjoyable – I came second behind Jodie.
“I’m always open to new ideas – although I recently turned down celebrity cage fighting – I’m not sure that would have been the best idea!”
(Image: We Love TV)
One thing that Lembit is truly passionate about, however, is his role working for Asgardia. He explained: “What you may not know is I’m the first chairman of the first space nation for humans, its called Asgardia.”
“It’s kind of like the Brexit idea of ‘Leave’,” he joked. “We want to see a family in space, the first birth in space with a permanent space habitation. We’ve even launched our own satellite and have more than a million followers now around the world, it’s really cool.”
Lembit, whose grandad was a famous astronomer says Asgardia will one day shape the future of space law. “No one owns space, but Asgardia recognises that you can be a citizen of space,” he said. “If you don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the last few centuries, then this is the way we do it.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
