I'm a Celeb casualties Dom and Kayla choose Stacey
Former X Factor star Stacey Solomon is hot favourite to become queen of the jungle in the I'm A Celebrity final after being endorsed by the latest two evictees. The Dagenham-born 21-year-old was described as an 'amazing person, inside and out' by Playboy model Kayla Collins, who was the first person to be voted out in Thursday night's double-eviction. And comedian Dom Joly, who was the second celebrity to be given his marching orders, said the popular mother-of-one was "'an extraordinary individual' and confirmed he wanted her to win the title. Solomon's odds of winning the competition outright were last night slashed to 1/10 by bookmakers William Hill, ahead of Happy Mondays singer Shaun Ryder at 11/2 and comedienne Jenny Eclair at 25/1. The five remaining campers were whittled down to three on Thursday night's show after hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly revealed a surprise dual-eviction. American model Collins screeched with excitement as it was revealed she had scored the lowest number of public votes. The 23-year-old hugged camp mates and screamed 'I love you guys' after being told she was leaving the jungle for good. Reflecting on her time in the jungle, she said: "It's been full of ups and downs. One day I'm so happy, the next day I'm crying. It's been a really amazing experience overall." Joly followed Collins out of the jungle in the second eviction of the night. He whooped 'He's out! He's out!' as he grabbed his things and headed for the exit. After taking a picture of Ant and Dec with his disposable camera, he admitted he never thought he would win and said: "I so nearly walked so many times." He continued: "It was tougher than I expected, way tougher. More than anything. You watch and you see everyone whingeing away and you're like: 'Come on, what's wrong with you?' but it's really tough."
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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.
An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.