Third is the new FIRST! Nigel's I'm A Celeb final spot is a huge wake-up call but the mainstream are still sleeping - analysis by Alex Davies
Nigel Farage has emerged from the jungle a winner no matter the result
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After three weeks of Brexit debates, bottom-baring, immigration rows, cow teat gorging, European Parliament revelations and unforgettable shirt-stripping song routines, Farage is finally out of the jungle.
Sadly he hasn't emerged as King of the Jungle with that title going to anodyne reality TV star Sam Thompson, but Farage still left boycott callers shedding tears onto their iPhone keyboards by making it to the finale.
The complainers clung onto Farage missing out on the jungle crown as some sort of victory - despite I'm A Celeb revealing he was merely five percent behind fellow finalist Tony Bellew in the vote to be runner-up and less than 18 percent behind Thompson for top spot.
As the vote for third spot closed, Thompson was ahead with a 43.35 percent share of the vote followed by Bellew's 30.87 percent and Farage's 25.78 percent.
Not quite the landslide middle finger to the former UKIP leader leftie ITV viewers were hoping for.
No, in fact, over one in four I'm A Celebrity viewers backed Farage for the jungle crown and while it wasn't enough to secure victory, it should be a huge wake-up call to those staunch in their opposition that millions back what the GB News star has to say.
To Ant and Dec's credit, they appeared to have realised this as Farage's exit interview was conducted in a respectful manner, with some light ribbing about the time it took him to get to the studio.
There was no fishing for "gotcha" moments, no personal stance on Farage's political prowess, and thankfully no mention of how Brexit has supposedly sent Britain into a downward spiral so bad that in a few years, we'll all be gathered around a bin fire wishing we had a kangaroo's anus to chow down on.
WATCH NOW: Farage's I'm A Celeb exit interview
The Geordie presenting duo asked the stock questions of why it was time for Farage to take on the show, his highlights in camp etcetera, but they also were keen to hear his thoughts on the clashes with Fred Siriex and what the future holds.
"Whatever you think, we're all entitled to our opinion, I'm a human being like anyone else," Farage said to a nodding Ant and Dec - and even admitted he'd relive the entire experience again.
His final words on I'm A Celebrity were the epitome of what the nation has discovered over the past few weeks - that Farage isn't the big bad wolf portrayed in the echo chambers of Twitter, but rather a personable political figure who stands up for what he believes.
Sadly, however, just hours after exiting the jungle, the mainstream media - ITV itself actually - managed to show itself for the tunnel-visioned and petulant machine it really is.
Farage joined Susanna Reid and Ed Balls on Good Morning Britain on Monday and as to be expected, they couldn't wait to rib and sneer at the GB News star for his jungle stint.
WATCH NOW: Farage faces Ed Balls and Susanna Reid on GMB
After the introductory small talk where the hosts showed some semblance of professionalism, Reid was the first to try and bag her "gotcha" moment with Farage by asking what his "motivations" were for joining the show.
Farage explained it was down to being the "most demonised political figure over the last decade in the popular press" as well as wanting to "test himself" but Reid wasn't convinced.
With a sense of self-righteousness that suggests she'd NEVER pocket a gargantuan sum to be flung around on a reality TV series like Strictly Come... oh, hang on - the GMB presenter interjected to hint the reported £1.5 million paycheck also spurred him on.
"The money of course! What's wrong with that?" Farage perfectly hit back while Balls could only fiddle with his pen while thinking of other ways they could try and catch the GB News man off-guard.
Balls decided to try and join Reid on this bizarre moral high ground they had built for themselves to undermine and mock Farage's stint in the jungle - forgetting the fact most twentysomethings remember him as the bloke who straddled a helpless Strictly dancer to the sound of Gangnam Style.
Balls completely missed the mark and misinterpreted the public's backing of Farage, mocking he had the "honour" of finishing in the same spot as Matt Hancock did last year and sarcastically suggesting Farage could use his jungle stint to "finally" get into the British parliament after failing to do so previously.
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Nigel Farage took on the Celebrity Cyclone
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But Farage wasn't going to take the sneers from the ITV duo lying as he brilliantly hit back: "I tried a lot of times before, you're quite right, I also won two national elections in European elections leading two different parties - something no one in history has ever done, so I could do with a little bit less of that sort of commentary."
As Balls floundered and feigned a grovelling apology, Farage defiantly hit back: "If you poke me with a stick, I'll poke back, don't worry about that."
The interview less than 24 hours after leaving the jungle should be a stark reminder to those who don't necessarily agree with mainstream viewpoints that any opposition will be met with a level of snootiness and condemnation fitting of a playground.
So what now for Nigel? He admitted elsewhere in his interview the Conservative Party is a "total shambles" at the moment while calls for his long-awaited return to the Tories are louder than ever.
And let's face it, if he can see off This Morning sweetheart Josie Gibson and Britney Spears's sister to an audience of ITV viewers, then Sunak, Starmer and co are no match once Farage re-enters the political sphere.
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