I’m A Celebrity’s Martin Kemp at ‘end of career’ as he reveals wife Shirlie’s first words after exit

The singer and actor has spoken out following his exit from the ITV reality show

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Martin Kemp has been speaking about his time in I’m A Celebrity(Image: James Gourley/Publishd/Shutterstock)

Martin Kemp has said he’s at the ‘end of his career’ as he spoke about his time in the jungle, and revealed what his wife Shirlie’s first words to him were after his I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here exit as they enjoyed an emotional reunion.

The Spandau Ballet star became the sixth celebrity to be voted off of the ITV reality show on Thursday night (December 4), which comes ahead of the final this Sunday (December 7), after Ruby Wax, Kelly Brook, Vogue Williams, Eddie Kadi, and Alex Scott.

Initially speaking about his time in the jungle, Martin told hosts Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly: “It’s just a weird trip. I loved just sitting around and talking with the others. I said it a few times on there, I’m not one for making new friends and this is the first time I’ve done it in years and I absolutely loved it.

“Coming out now, I feel like I’ve done everything I wanted to do, experienced it and I can walk out with some brilliant anecdotes. I wasn’t one of those guys that was dancing and singing and stuff, I just brought a calm energy.”

Martin has now opened up about being reunited with wife Shirlie, who he has been married to for 37 years, admitting: “She told me she loved me…..but that I needed a bath.”

After seeing her at the end of the famous jungle bridge, he says her first words left him elated. “The first thing she said to me was, ‘I love you,'” Martin shared with the Mirror. “It was something I was dreaming about hearing for three weeks. It is something that I was dying to hear. It meant more than it has done for years, and I really loved it.”

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Shirlie and Martin were reunited following his exit from the I’m A Celebrity jungle(Image: James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock)

Speaking to the Mirror at the five-star hotel, Martin laughed as he confirmed he had followed Shirlie’s advice and washed.“I just stank of the campfire….the first shower was brilliant, and being able to take down your pants without anyone looking was superb,” he says.

Martin also shared that Shirlie had a particular reason for wanting her husband to go into the jungle. “When we first spoke about doing it, Shirley said to me, ‘You need to go because you need to learn how to make new friends.’ And she’s absolutely right,” he said.

“I think what I realised about myself is that I’m not very good at making new friends generally…and I think that comes from being in the public eye for over 50 years now, since I was a 17-year-old kid. But after time spent in there, I realised that I could. You know, it’s the first time I’ve done it for a long time, so it was a really lovely experience.”

During his time in camp, some viewers complained that the Spandau Ballet star wasn’t being given enough airtime, or trials for that matter. But Martin’s instinct in camp was often to step back and let the next generation take centre stage.

“I thought, I am at the end of my career,” the singer and actor confessed. “I’m at a point where I’m slowing down a little bit, and the other guys are at the beginning. Why not give them a chance and time and put them in front of the queue.

“I did the whole helicopter thing and the big trials at the beginning, but I just felt, you know, the young guys were chomping at it, and why not let them go? Let them do it, and it can do brilliant things for their career. Absolutely, that’s absolutely why I kind of stepped back a little bit.”