SUN columnist Jane Moore had a touching heart to heart with Reverend Richard Coles on last night's I'm A Celebrity.
Jane and Richard, both 62, bonded over their mutual appreciation for solitude and the misconceptions surrounding it in a clip from spin-off show, Unpacked.
Reflecting on the challenges of being surrounded by others constantly, Richard admitted, "The thing I never do is be with anyone 24/7. That's the thing, isn't it?"
Jane nodded in agreement, revealing how her upbringing as an only child shaped her comfort with her own company.
She said: "I'm an only child, so I've always been very happy in my own company.
"Because I live on my own, you can go and socialise, but then you can have pockets of just nothing. Silence. Silence is golden."
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Richard shared his own rituals for reclaiming peace after being away from home.
"Whenever I’ve been away or if I’m going away, Dickie always gives me a day’s grace," he explained , referring to his partner.
"Because I just need to come home. And stuff away, sit on my own and watch telly."
Jane agreed: "Yeah. And just go... [sighing] yeah. I think everyone needs that.
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"It’s funny how many people say, ‘Oh, you live on your own, aren’t you lonely?’
"And it’s like, ‘Well, solitude doesn’t mean lonely.’ But a lot of people conflate the two. For them, it means loneliness."
Richard is an openly gay man who was in a long-term relationship with the late Rev David Coles.
The couple were in a celibate, civil partnership and didn't have any children.
Sadly, David passed in 2019 and Richard didn't reveal his partner's cause of death until two years later.
Richard revealed David had died from alcoholism in 2021.
In his book The Madness Of Grief: A Memoir Of Love And Loss, Richard opened up about his devastating loss.
He talked about how it was "tough" to watch David "destroy himself" and said he did everything he could "think of to help him".
In June 2023, Richard revealed on ITV's Lorraine that he has found love again.
His new partner is actor Richard "Dickie" Cant, son of the late actor and children’s TV presenter Brian Cant.
Meanwhile, in December 2022, Jane announced her split from husband Gary Farrow after 20 years of marriage.
The journalist shared news of the separation on Loose Women, insisting the pair are still best friends.
She told panellists Kelle Bryan, Coleen Nolan and Frankie Bridge that the pair has plans to spend Christmas together before selling their home and buying new properties in the New Year.
She said: "It's weird it's out there because we've been processing it for about a year. We're both quite private people and then he fell and broke his leg and then obviously all bets are off. We're still going to spend Christmas together. The kids know, our family knows..."
Mum-of-three Jane added that caring for Gary after his injury had enabled them to split amicably.
She continued: "He is my best friend. I would hope he would say I’m his best friend and I’m very keen we don’t lose that element."
Jane's Loose Women contingent came out in full force to defend her after she called out "sexism" in the I'm A Celeb camp.
I'm A Celebrity 2024
i'm A Celebrity is back for its 24th series, with a batch of famous faces living in the Aussie jungle. The Sun's Jake Penkethman takes a look at the stars on the show this year..
Coleen Rooney - Arguably the most famous name in the camp, the leading WAG, known for her marriage to Wayne Rooney, has made a grand return to TV as she looks to put the Wagatha Christie scandal behind her. The Sun revealed the mum-of-four had bagged an eye-watering deal worth over £1.5million to be on the show this year making her the highest-paid contestant ever.
Tulisa - The popstar and former X Factor judge has made her triumphant TV comeback by signing up to this year's I'm A Celeb after shunning TV shows for many years. Known for being a member of the trio, N-Dubz, Tulisa became a household name back in 2011 when she signed on to replace Cheryl on ITV show The X Factor in a multi-million pound deal.
Alan Halsall - The actor, known for playing the long-running role of Tyrone Dobbs on ITV soap opera Coronation Street, was originally signed up to head Down Under last year but an operation threw his scheduled appearance off-course. Now he has become the latest Corrie star to win over both the viewers and his fellow celebrities.
Melvin Odoom - The Radio DJ has become a regular face on TV screens after rising to fame with presenting roles on Kiss FM, BBC Radio 1 and 4Music. Melvin has already been for a spin on the Strictly dancefloor and co-hosted The Xtra Factor with Rochelle Humes in 2015 but now he is facing up to his biggest challenge yet - the Aussie jungle.
GK Barry - The UK's biggest social media personality, GK, whose real name is Grace Keeling, has transformed her TikTok stardom into a lucrative career. Aside from her popular social media channels, she hosts the weekly podcast, Saving Grace, and regularly appears on ITV talk show, Loose Women. She has even gone on to endorse popular brands such as PrettyLittleThing, KFC and Ann Summers.
Dean McCullough - A rising star amongst this year's bunch of celebs, Dean first achieved notability through his radio appearances on Gaydio and BBC Radio 1. He was chosen to join the BBC station permanently in 2021 and has featured prominently ever since. He has enjoyed a crossover to ITV over the past year thanks to his guest slots on Big Brother spin-off show, Late & Live.
Oti Mabuse - The pro dancer has signed up to her latest TV show after making her way through the biggest programmes on the box. She originally found fame on Strictly Come Dancing but has since branched out into the world of TV judging with appearances on former BBC show The Greatest Dancer as well as her current role on ITV's Dancing On Ice.
Danny Jones - The McFly star was drafted into the programme last minute as a replacement for Tommy Fury. Danny is the second member of McFly to enter the jungle, after Dougie Poynter won the show in 2011. He is also considered a rising star on ITV as he's now one of the mentors on their Saturday night talent show, The Voice, along with bandmate Tom Fletcher.
Jane Moore - The Loose Women star and The Sun columnist is braving the creepy crawlies this year. The star is ready for a new challenge - having recently split from her husband. It will be Jane's first foray into reality TV with the telly favourite having always said no to reality shows in the past.
Barry McGuigan - Former pro boxer Barry is the latest fighting champ to head Down Under following in the footsteps of Tony Bellew and Amir Khan. It comes after a tough few years for Irish star Barry, who lost his daughter Danika to bowel cancer. He told The Late Late Show in 2021: "She was such an intrinsic part of the family that every day we ache."
Maura Higgins - The Irish TV beauty first found fame on Love Island where she found a brief connection with dancer Curtis Pritchard. Since then, she has competed on Dancing On Ice as well as hosting the Irish version of the beauty contest, Glow Up. Since last year, she has been working on building up her career in the US by being the social media correspondent and host of Aftersun to accompany Love Island USA. She even guest hosted an episode of the spin-off, Love Island Games, in place of Maya Jama last year.
Rev. Richard Coles - Former BBC radio host the Rev Richard Coles is a late arrival on I’m A Celebrity, and he's ready to spill the beans on his former employer. The former Communards and Strictly star, said the BBC did not know its a**e from its elbow last year. An insider said: "Rev Coles will have a variety of tales to tell from his wild days as a pop star in the Eighties, through to performing on Strictly and his later life as a man of the cloth."
The TV personality was at the heart of the jungle action on Sunday when new camp leaders were installed and tasks dished out.
Jane, alongside pop star Tulisa, 36, got lumbered with the washing up - and she was quick to call out boxer Barry McGuigan, 63, for choosing two women to tackle the household chore.
She also had the backing of fans, who slammed Barry's co-leader Danny Jones for handing her the "patronising" and "easy" challenge.
Yesterday, her co-stars fought her corner on the ITV daytime show - revealing the real reason for her comments.
Charlene White, 44, who has also been a jungle campmate, insisted to Judi Love: "Now, Jane isn't one to complain about things is she Judes?
"She just wants to get stuck in."
In a lengthy defence of her pal, the stand-up comedienne, 44, said: "She does! What I love about Jane is she will just say it how it is and she'll just move on.
"But we don't always see everything thats happening inside and what makes you feel a little bit frustrated and not feeling like you want to be involved.
"And I can tell from Jane she definitely wants to do a trial, she is hands on, that woman is robust.
"She will get in there, she doesn't mind as you saw when she went in and started the fire, so those things she has no regards to gender roles.
"Jane is like 'I'll do whatever needs to be done.'
"So I think as long as she feels like that, she'll be happy.
"You've got to understand people are hungry, people are tired."
Fellow panelist Coleen Nolan, 59, chipped in and said: "The hunger, the tiredness, the boredom and Jane's not one to handle boredom at all.
"And you can see because every time they come and say whose doing the trial and say she's not picked she's the only one who goes [sigh]
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"And that's genuine."
- I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! continues tonight at 9pm on ITV1.