Cheeky tales only bolster Lembit's reputation

Telly Talk: Now let's be honest, none of us are under any illusion that our jungle campers are in there for the fun of it – or indeed the climate, lodgings, food or company, writes Tracey O'Sullivan.

And it's absolute poppycock that there is any need to either "find themselves" or "overcome their phobias" when they sign up for I'm A Celeb.

With that lot I'm sure there is a Betty Ford clinic specially adapted for phobias and fears which has five-star accommodation attached and, more importantly, privacy.

No, the one thing they are all after is exposure – the girls more than the boys, judging by those less is more bikinis. But the bottom line all round is that I'm A Celeb is about profile-building. Careers are made or broken in the jungle and if nothing else at least interest is peaked in the profile of those happy to consume a witchety grub or two for a fix of boosted stardom.

But I'm not so sure Lembit Opik realised that his toiling away in the jungle - living in the most basic outdoor camp and starving in the name of the fame game, never mind having to wear those ridiculous prison stripes, would be fodder for his ex-girlfriend's star status.

It seems there is no limit to the cheek of the Cheeky Girls, with Gabriela Irimia busy giving interviews left, right and centre about the end of her relationship with Lembit.

She has been talking about her anorexia returning after the split with the former Montgomeryshire MP and the miscarriage which followed shortly after they officially went their separate ways.

Now to brand her simply an attention-seeker would be missing the point. They all are – although Gillian McKeith has been giving a master class in it – but it seems to be a little bit more desperate when you not putting the work in Down Under to deserve it.

So by default the woman has only served to help our Lemmy's case, adding yet another touch of sympathy for the 45-year-old and perhaps giving him back a shred of dignity. Despite it winning him a few admiring glances from the other male campers – boys will be boys – he has refused to discuss his former girlfriend, saying it is something he tends not to boast about.

Seeing her splashed across the headlines with a distinct lack of such discretion and his insistence last night of giving fainting Gillian the benefit of the doubt - "even if it wasn't real it was how she felt" – has endeared Lembit to viewers.

They still might be astounded he was an MP (say it with me now -"for 13 years") but he is proving to be one of the nice guys.