Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson touches down for I'm A Celeb and says he's already lost without his bandmates

Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson has touched down in Australia ahead of his I’m A Celebrity stint - but admitted he is already feeling lost without his bandmates.

ITV bosses have been trying to sign the singer up for years, and finally he has agreed to head into the dreaded jungle for the upcoming series.

Speaking to the Daily Mail after touching down in Brisbane, Ricky attempted to keep his jungle stint under wraps, insisting: ‘I’m here to do a top-secret television programme.’

But Ricky couldn't quite keep a straight face, quickly adding: ‘I'm not a great liar, am I?’

And it seems he is already missing having his bandmates by his side. Asked what the Kaiser Chiefs boys thought about his decision to take on the gruelling jungle challenge, Ricky joked: ‘I thought I was meeting them here! I don’t do anything without them. I’m useless without them.’

He also confessed he has never been camping, despite years spent performing at huge festivals including Glastonbury – meaning his first taste of outdoor living could be a particularly steep learning curve.

Ricky, 48, was due to fly from Singapore to Brisbane on Wednesday morning, but his Qantas flight, which was scheduled to land at 5.55am, was cancelled on Tuesday.

However, the star was put on the next flight and landed shortly after his original arrival time.

As part of Kaiser Chiefs, Ricky has sold more than eight million records worldwide.

The Leeds band are best known for their hits Ruby and I Predict a Riot.

Their eight studio albums have all gone Top 10, and two - Yours Truly, Angry Mob in 2007, and Education, Education, Education & War in 2014 - made it to No1.

Ricky will join Wayne Rooney, Chloe Burrows, Joanna Page, Sharky, AJ Odudu, Mariella Frostrup, Leomie Anderson, Claire Sweeney, and Jack Skipper in the I’m A Celebrity camp this year.

And the Daily Mail revealed that controversial comedian Leigh Francis is this year’s late arrival.

He will jet off to Australia early next week after bosses persuaded him to take part.

Sources say that producers believe he will be the ‘perfect’ addition to shake up the camp after the initial 11 contestants get to know one another.

Mr Francis is also expected to ‘prompt a whole lot of chaos’ as it has been suggested that he may switch into Keith Lemon.

One said: ‘Sometimes we get Leigh, other times you get Keith, officially he has signed up as Leigh but let's see. Keith is much more fun and will have no qualms about stirring things up with the campmates.’

The survival reality show – which is presented by Declan Donnelly, 51, and Ant McPartlin, 50 – will be back on ITV on Monday, November 16.

Last year's I’m A Celebrity series launched with 11.3m viewers. Across all platforms, the 2025 series reached 23.4m people which is 38 per cent of the TV population.