I’m A Celeb stars will know about it if they get on the wrong side of Oti – but I love her realness, says Ashley Banjo
OTI Mabuse is lighting up the camp with her bright personality, big smile and delicious cooking.
But her Dancing On Ice co-judge Ashley Banjo has warned campmates will know about it if they rub her the wrong way.
The Diversity star admits he’s not a big TV watcher, but has been impressed with the former Strictly champ from the clips he’s seen from the jungle so far.
In an exclusive chat with The Sun on behalf of Sky TV, he said: “I don’t think Oti can help but be real.
“Like that’s one thing I do know about Oti. I think she’s very real. Like you will know if you’re on the wrong side of Oti and then when you’re on the right side of Oti, which is most of the time to be fair, she’s so warm and bright and bubbly and full of energy.
“Honestly, she talks 100 miles an hour while we’re at volume 100 and I love her for it, you know.”
Ashley’s brother Jordan has tackled I’m A Celebrity twice, first in Australia in 2016 and again in South Africa for the All Stars edition in 2023.
So it’s no surprise to hear that bosses have tried to woo him onto the show for a crack at jungle glory.
Unfortunately for them, Ash really isn’t keen to put on the famous camp khakis and slum it in the basic conditions.
“I’ve considered the jungle over many years,” said Ash. “Sometimes not even being asked, sometimes feeling hypothetical.
“And honestly, like I don’t know. I mean, listen, I just don’t know if there’s a reason that I would ever go in. Honestly, I think that show looks, for me it just looks mental.
“I think to myself, like yeah, good for you. Like if you can go in there and you can hack it, amazing. But like for me, it’s not the one.”
Soon his attention will be turning to his work behind the panel for Dancing On Ice.
Now a show veteran, Ash is relishing getting to see what skills the latest set of celebrities’ – such as Chelsee Healey, Charlie Brooks and Sir Steve Redgrave – have spent months developing.
He said: “The lads have been training for months on end and they’re falling over and they’ve got the bruises and the blood to show for it.
“I think that I’ve done it for so long now that I actually look forward to turning up and saying like, ‘wow, how have they done?’ You know, when I see those first shows and those first skates, I’m pretty much seeing it all fresh like the audience is.”
It’s little surprise that Ashley has limited time for television with his many work engagements.
But he’s still not been able to escape some of the big catchphrases from the year’s most-watched shows.
He and his brother Jordan have teamed up with Sky’s Voice of the Nation campaign and its introduction of a cool new feature on the Sky remote that allows viewers to put on their favourite shows by simply speaking a particular catchphrase.
The fun update comes after new research found 85 percent of people admit to quoting TV phrases in everyday life.
Some of the standouts include David Beckham’s iconic ‘Be honest’, Game of Thrones’ ‘Winter is coming’, and Blue Peter’s ‘Here’s one I made earlier’.
Ashley said: “I think that if you can create an iconic quote in today’s day and age, with all the noise of social media, and there’s about 100 shows released every week, I think those ones are magic.
“So I think that the Beckham clip, I don’t know what, I just think it’s so good.”