Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload the podcast last week. Thereby, Hey guys, welcome
Speaker 1: back to TV Reload. I want to thank you for
Speaker 1: clicking and downloading on today's episode with Stephen k Amos,
Speaker 1: the latest eliminated celebrity from I'm a Celebrity, Get Me
Speaker 1: Out of Here for twenty twenty four. This international renowned
Speaker 1: funny man was an absolute joy in the camp this year,
Speaker 1: providing endless stories and entertainment for all of his camp
Speaker 1: mates every day. Stephen wowed the camp mates with his
Speaker 1: endless tales of famous faces that he's encountered, his origins
Speaker 1: in the comedy scene, and a hilarious emergency that saw
Speaker 1: him turn his beloved Porsche into a Porterloo. However, it
Speaker 1: was Steven's ability to share some of his home truths
Speaker 1: with the camp, opening up about his experiences of racial violence.
Speaker 1: I do quickly want to point out that Stephen's choice
Speaker 1: of charity was Banksier Palliative Care Services, which is a
Speaker 1: non for profit that provides a central, twenty four hour
Speaker 1: holistic palliative care and support to children and adults living
Speaker 1: with progressive and terminal illnesses. Stephen will reveal if he
Speaker 1: had been asked to do the UK version of I'm
Speaker 1: a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here. And also he
Speaker 1: explains the difference between the countries and how their shows differ.
Speaker 1: We will get a tease of what sort of jungle
Speaker 1: content we can expect to see in his upcoming comedy
Speaker 1: show and why he might lose.
Speaker 2: A few of his new friends.
Speaker 1: I will also talk about his relationship with Australian comedians
Speaker 1: and find out if his previous established relationship with Julia
Speaker 1: Morris helped him get on the show. I'm also going
Speaker 1: to talk about how this show has changed him for
Speaker 1: life and what sort of changes he's going to make
Speaker 1: in his life moving forward. There's actually so much to
Speaker 1: unpack with Stephen kay, so sit back and relax as
Speaker 1: we unpack his time in the South African jungle.
Speaker 2: Hi Stephen, how are you Ben? Yes? It is it
Speaker 2: is Ben.
Speaker 3: Ben Norwick right. Yes, one of my oldest friend in
Speaker 3: the UK comedian is called Ben Norris.
Speaker 2: I hate him. He's got my name. He keeps trying
Speaker 2: to bump me off all of these programs.
Speaker 3: What you might be in I'm.
Speaker 2: Australia's version of Ben Norris?
Speaker 1: But can I tell you that for a very long time,
Speaker 1: if you typed in my name, up came a very
Speaker 1: handsome photo of me. And now when you type in
Speaker 1: my name, it's your old mate from overseas.
Speaker 3: Got to get rid of him, I hear you. I
Speaker 3: love a word in and I'll get him to change
Speaker 3: his name. By deed poll, I'm happy with. My name
Speaker 3: is Stephen Kate amos an anagrammer, which is the spokesman by.
Speaker 2: The way, amazing, amazing. I do like that. I hadn't
Speaker 2: put that together, but I'm glad you've pointed it out. Book.
Speaker 1: Congratulations on surviving the jungle, but also surviving living with
Speaker 1: Australian celebrities.
Speaker 3: I know that was one of the weird things about
Speaker 3: going into the jungle because I literally knew nobody. Obviously,
Speaker 3: I had seen Margin in the middle, so I knew
Speaker 3: who Thank You was, I didn't know him. I also
Speaker 3: knew who Tristan was, so I've done the Studio ten
Speaker 3: program he used thought, but I literally had no idea
Speaker 3: who anyone else was. I felt like a duck out
Speaker 3: of water. I was thrown in literally at the deep
Speaker 3: end and had to get to know Boom from scratch,
Speaker 3: which in a weird way was an advantage. I had
Speaker 3: no preconceived ideas about anybody.
Speaker 1: Did you ask one of the producers if you could
Speaker 1: wear like a little earpiece so they could talk into
Speaker 1: your ear and say, right, you talk me to guy.
Speaker 2: She's an influencer, she was on Big Brother.
Speaker 3: Do you know what? I should have done that? But
Speaker 3: there was something about getting to know people from the start,
Speaker 3: and I think that's what we've all lost, that kind
Speaker 3: of human touch, that human connection, because we're so addicted
Speaker 3: to this little device in our hands, a mobile phone.
Speaker 3: And that's the genius of this show, actually, because you're
Speaker 3: forced could have conversations and forced to get to know
Speaker 3: people with a phone in hand. There's so many other
Speaker 3: distractions we could easily use. I mean, how many times
Speaker 3: have you been in a restaurant or a bar and
Speaker 3: you've seen a group of friends savner each other and
Speaker 3: some of them are literally on their phones, not being present.
Speaker 2: I mean, you would know this.
Speaker 1: I did a series of Big Brother, and I was
Speaker 1: in there for four months, and so had no phone
Speaker 1: for four months. And after about three months, I decided
Speaker 1: in my mind that when they get gave me my
Speaker 1: phone back, I wouldn't want it. I was like living
Speaker 1: off the land. I'm hanging up all electronic equipment, you know,
Speaker 1: but very quickly you will get back, you know, to
Speaker 1: being in love with your phone again.
Speaker 3: Oh do you know what then, I'm going to say
Speaker 3: this now, I'm going to make sure that I spend
Speaker 3: at least one or two days a month where I
Speaker 3: put my phone down because it was so cathartic and
Speaker 3: I don't want to be that person that loses everything
Speaker 3: I've been, that I've learned, or that i've that has
Speaker 3: really enhanced who I am. From my experience in the jungle,
Speaker 3: we don't need to be on our phones twenty four seven.
Speaker 3: Nothing is that important. Think about it. From my point
Speaker 3: of view. We have had no access to the news.
Speaker 3: I mean that I watched the news on a regular
Speaker 3: basis because I helped you with being across what's happening
Speaker 3: in the world culturally that I can maybe make jokes
Speaker 3: about or reference about. But in my full weeks in
Speaker 3: that jungle, nothing mattered. You know. Of course, we want
Speaker 3: to keep in touch with our friends and our family,
Speaker 3: but you know what, I don't need to scroll through TikTok,
Speaker 3: I don't need to scroll from Facebook nothing is that important.
Speaker 1: Especially watching other people, and I mean it is an
Speaker 1: enormous amount of sort of naval gazing, is what you
Speaker 1: call it. But you know what I wanted to ask you.
Speaker 1: You know, there are so many international versions of I'm
Speaker 1: a Celebrity, Get me out of here. Is this the
Speaker 1: first time you've been asked to do one of them?
Speaker 1: Because I mean, you would be not out of place
Speaker 1: being in the UK one or the American version.
Speaker 3: I've been asked to take part in other versions, but
Speaker 3: what attracted me to the Australian version is, as far
Speaker 3: as I'm aware, it's not about conflict. You don't seem
Speaker 3: to throw people in there that you know sparks are
Speaker 3: going to fly. I'm not about convict in my day
Speaker 3: to day life. I don't really want to be on
Speaker 3: a TV show where it's designed for me to annoyed
Speaker 3: with somebody. If it happens naturally to the course of events, fine,
Speaker 3: But if you put like if you put me in
Speaker 3: the jungle with someone whose political and aspirational way of
Speaker 3: life is completely different to mine, that is as a
Speaker 3: starting point is very difficult. And I understand that there
Speaker 3: is also a level of respect that we go into
Speaker 3: these shows with I want to have that respect from
Speaker 3: my fellow camp mate and not have a preconceived notion
Speaker 3: of who they are, what they've beliefs are, and therefore
Speaker 3: be on the back foot straight away.
Speaker 1: Okay, so who out of these two people would you
Speaker 1: prefer to go into the jungle? But let's just say,
Speaker 1: because now you've got to taste for it, he decided
Speaker 1: to do the UK one. What about Kate Hopkins or
Speaker 1: Meghan Michael Which one of those two?
Speaker 3: I would love to be in the jungle with Megan
Speaker 3: Markle because I think it. Yeah, I think that she
Speaker 3: can give me or us an insight into what she's
Speaker 3: actually been through, not all the press there about her,
Speaker 3: know what people's opinions are about her. But then Kate Opkins,
Speaker 3: she's known for being, you know, very opinionated. You know
Speaker 3: what we've all got, We've all got opinions. I don't
Speaker 3: need to be around yours twenty four to seven because
Speaker 3: the benefit of the life that we all live is
Speaker 3: that I don't have to listen to you. I can
Speaker 3: switch off my ears. But if I'm stuck in a
Speaker 3: place where we have to talk to each other, oh
Speaker 3: my good. As Katie rain in rain your neck in love?
Speaker 1: What about Sky though, because like Sky, I mean, she's
Speaker 1: a fan favorite. She's probably going to take this whole
Speaker 1: thing out and people love her. But I have myself
Speaker 1: spent about seventy two hours with her in a row
Speaker 1: and I rang her mum and got her mum to
Speaker 1: pick her up from my house and to take her
Speaker 1: home because I was done. Did you wish that you
Speaker 1: had the luxury of calling Sky's mum at any point
Speaker 1: and asking for her to be taken home?
Speaker 3: You know? Are we perfectly wanted to know? I've all
Speaker 3: the Bible mentioned. Spy was not the one I wish
Speaker 3: I could bring their mum. There were a couple of
Speaker 3: people in there, but I do wish I could call
Speaker 3: them mom. But Sky was not one of them. Guy.
Speaker 3: I found to be so pure, so genuine, and so
Speaker 3: honest and also willing to give anything a try and
Speaker 3: also learned. And she made me laugh. That woman has
Speaker 3: good a pure heart. I can't say that for everybody but.
Speaker 1: Me. Don't worry, Stephen, Why don't you would know this?
Speaker 1: But Denise Drysdale is actually a very I grew up
Speaker 1: with her.
Speaker 3: I had no idea about that connection and I'm going
Speaker 3: to say Denise did not pull any punching she you
Speaker 3: were laterally going on, and she knew what she was
Speaker 3: going to be, what she didn't want to do, And
Speaker 3: we had a connection because both in showbillys, both work
Speaker 3: in comedy, and both at a certain age and her,
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, there's the knowing glances kept coming back and
Speaker 3: forth between myself and Denise.
Speaker 2: I love her for that. I mean I grew up
Speaker 2: with it.
Speaker 1: Like when she was offering KHN instructions on how to
Speaker 1: fix the fire and he didn't take that very well.
Speaker 1: I was like, that's how I grew up. That's Denise's
Speaker 1: fairy to the point. She didn't beat around the bush.
Speaker 1: She gave you very clear instructions and you were able
Speaker 1: to actually finish the task that she would give you
Speaker 1: because of the clarity of it.
Speaker 2: Do you know what I mean?
Speaker 3: Absolutely? Then there's nothing worse than too many cooks broiling
Speaker 3: the broth. One person take charge, say what we need
Speaker 3: to do, and let's execute it. That's what we missed
Speaker 3: when Karen left. That's all we missed when Denise left,
Speaker 3: because oh, I don't know if you saw the day
Speaker 3: after Calm left and we all were too many chefs
Speaker 3: in the kitchen. I was like, mate, just be quiet.
Speaker 3: You didn't do this when karm was here. You won't
Speaker 3: mind this. Spend Denise with here? What wrong would you be?
Speaker 1: Because those two are quite frightening. But you know quickly
Speaker 1: I wanted to ask you. You know you have become
Speaker 1: this fan favorite. It's a shocked Australia. I don't think
Speaker 1: you've been giving your phone back so you wouldn't know.
Speaker 1: But people are outraged that you were eliminated. I don't
Speaker 1: think we've seen anyone being as outraged like a celebrity
Speaker 1: that's had this much outrage. And poor Brittany Hockley, everyone's
Speaker 1: like pointing the finger at her and saying you.
Speaker 2: Get out of here. They want her gone.
Speaker 1: And I'm like, I need to ask you this, what's
Speaker 1: the relationship like with Brittany Hockley inside the camp because
Speaker 1: Australia doesn't seem like they've connected as genuinely to her
Speaker 1: as they have to you.
Speaker 3: Oh that's that's interesting. I don't obviously, I don't know
Speaker 3: what's been shown. I haven't seen any of the series
Speaker 3: at all. I only got out yesterday. But what I
Speaker 3: was doing for myself I was putting my heart on
Speaker 3: my sleeve. I thought, yes, I do comedy. It's very
Speaker 3: niche area and so therefore I want the rest of
Speaker 3: us say it to see what I'm about. I'm a
Speaker 3: black British man of Nigerian heritage, and I'm going to
Speaker 3: be honest. I don't have a huge social media following
Speaker 3: like Britney Doll. And maybe it's social media following that
Speaker 3: it's backing certain people. But all I wanted to do
Speaker 3: in that jungle was to be my authentic self and
Speaker 3: if that came through, I'm very proud of that. I'm
Speaker 3: very proud to mention the things I did mention. I'm
Speaker 3: also very proud to be supporting the charity. Thanks your
Speaker 3: Parents of Care Service. And yeah, people thought that brilliant.
Speaker 3: As try as I'm concerned that the program and the
Speaker 3: editors will only screen what people do and say. If
Speaker 3: you don't say and don't do it, they won't show it.
Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting because you know, you've sort of
Speaker 1: touched on a few things there as a comedian, you've
Speaker 1: only ever really been able to sort of choose what
Speaker 1: you want to share with us. And by doing a
Speaker 1: show like this where it's kind of what's and all,
Speaker 1: and you're relinquishing the control of what people are going
Speaker 1: to say to some producers. Were you nervous and did
Speaker 1: you try and sense yourself at all when talking about
Speaker 1: really personal issues, because you did talk about them and
Speaker 1: that was kind of I think the mack of who
Speaker 1: you were in this show.
Speaker 3: Yes, I do appreciate that comment because I went in
Speaker 3: this show. I thought I was going to I thought
Speaker 3: I was going to be guarded. I thought I was
Speaker 3: going to not let my armor down. But when you're
Speaker 3: in a space where there are people around you who
Speaker 3: are respectful, who are asking questions that come from a
Speaker 3: good place, and when there is nothing to do, you
Speaker 3: do find yourself letting down your guard and being vulnerable.
Speaker 3: And I didn't expect it from me. That wasn't my plan,
Speaker 3: But you know, after a week, after three days in
Speaker 3: that space, I found myself being free because the others
Speaker 3: were also being free. I'm not sure if I've got
Speaker 3: to know Brittany very well, but most of the others
Speaker 3: I think I did get to know quite well. And
Speaker 3: I really appreciated the time that they gave me. And yeah,
Speaker 3: and they're listening is.
Speaker 1: Peter Diacos also mentioned to you that he very funny.
Speaker 1: He was being funny, very pay to Diacos, but he said,
Speaker 1: if you mentioned me in any of your comedy acts
Speaker 1: that his legal people will.
Speaker 2: Be onto you.
Speaker 1: Well I would want to know though, because I don't
Speaker 1: think Peter Daycos would even end up in your material.
Speaker 1: But if you started to think about how you're going
Speaker 1: to use this experience in your shows.
Speaker 3: One hundred percent, then the only thing I was missing
Speaker 3: in that jungle was my dictive phone, or my my
Speaker 3: voice notes, my mobile phone, or a pen and a
Speaker 3: pad to write down note because I am I'm furiously
Speaker 3: just thinking right, well, that's a funny thing. I hope
Speaker 3: I remember that. But honestly, when I come back to
Speaker 3: Australia in a couple of days time, the show that
Speaker 3: I was planning to do will definitely change because I'll
Speaker 3: be revealing what and all. Who knows, I might even
Speaker 3: lose a few of the friends I've just made.
Speaker 2: You just got my you know what, I'm going to
Speaker 2: be really honest.
Speaker 1: Up until this point, I was like, you know, when
Speaker 1: you come to Melbourne, I'm going to come and see it.
Speaker 1: You know the way that you know your mates say
Speaker 1: that they're going to come and see the show. But
Speaker 1: now that you've said that, I am front row, I
Speaker 1: am top dollar.
Speaker 2: I want to be there things.
Speaker 3: It's going to be water and or people may be
Speaker 3: surprised because you know, I saw some things and I
Speaker 3: heard something, but I'm pretty certain didn't make the edit,
Speaker 3: And yeah, I wouldveal all.
Speaker 1: Do you know the only thing that I would say
Speaker 1: that you'd want to have a forever little porthole back
Speaker 1: into the jungle was to maybe watch Callum Hole showering
Speaker 1: every day. To me, that sounds like something I personally
Speaker 1: would never forget and be happy to have living rent
Speaker 1: free in my mind forever.
Speaker 3: Do you know what? Because I knew that he was
Speaker 3: banding there behind me a couple of times in the nude.
Speaker 3: I mean, I'm not that confident. I don't want to
Speaker 3: scare people, so I couldn't turn around. And I can
Speaker 3: imagine if I was nude in the shower with couple
Speaker 3: people at home watching, I'll probably take their eyes out.
Speaker 3: That's right, I'm veriod typed I can live with.
Speaker 1: Just before you go, I wanted to ask you with
Speaker 1: your experience of being here in Australia and doing so
Speaker 1: many comedy shows. Who are your mates in Australia that
Speaker 1: you've connected with in the comedy circuit, because you do
Speaker 1: all spend quite a lot of time together.
Speaker 2: Who are the ones that are continuing?
Speaker 3: He got so many good mates across the comedy scene.
Speaker 3: People think the comedians are very competitive, but you know
Speaker 3: what we're not. It's not a massive community and a
Speaker 3: lot of a lot of well known comics in Australia.
Speaker 3: I knew back in the UK when a lot of
Speaker 3: them were doing some stuff over there. So I will
Speaker 3: count Tom Gleeson as a friend if you Fanagan as
Speaker 3: a friend. Dave Hughes, Julia Morris, Dave Thornton in.
Speaker 1: The show, that's a good question to ask you did Julia?
Speaker 1: Did she pull a few strings? Is that how you
Speaker 1: ended up in this show?
Speaker 3: No? And I'm not even joking. A couple of weeks ago,
Speaker 3: I was well, a couple of weeks ago in Seidbury.
Speaker 3: I was in Adelaide and I saw Pete Elliott and
Speaker 3: I saw a nazine and I was definitely want to
Speaker 3: ask them at their experience of being in a jungle,
Speaker 3: but I couldn't, and you know, I couldn't think to Julia.
Speaker 3: I didn't want to give her a heads up. I
Speaker 3: didn't want to give me any chips, so I went
Speaker 3: in totally cold. But one of the biggest friend of
Speaker 3: mine right was hoping that maybe they'd featured some of it.
Speaker 3: In My Time in a Jungle was the lovely Cal Wilson,
Speaker 3: who was with me and was a very good support
Speaker 3: for me at a time in my life back ten
Speaker 3: years or when I needed it. And I know she
Speaker 3: had the jungle experience and the outpouring of love and
Speaker 3: grief when we lost Cow last year was just tepin.
Speaker 3: So what a beautiful soul she was and we will
Speaker 3: be sorely missed.
Speaker 2: And she always Yeah, she's immortalized.
Speaker 1: You know. You know, I've never you know, I've been
Speaker 1: in this industry for a very long time and I've
Speaker 1: met a lot of people, and I don't think I've
Speaker 1: ever heard anyone say a bad word about Cow. She
Speaker 1: knew everyone, She had a lot of face time with people. Anyway,
Speaker 1: So this is this podcast about you, my friend. This
Speaker 1: is all about doing. I need to finish off by
Speaker 1: asking who do you think is going to win? Not
Speaker 1: who you think, actually who do you want to win?
Speaker 1: I think that's a more interesting question.
Speaker 3: That's a very interesting question. I really would like two
Speaker 3: people to come out on top.
Speaker 2: No, we can't do that.
Speaker 3: I'll just go on. Yeah, okay, right, who do I
Speaker 3: want to win? I want Tristan to win.
Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, he's gone because I.
Speaker 3: Think he's such a genuine guy. What you see is
Speaker 3: what you get. He was dubbed the voice of reason
Speaker 3: in the jungle for a reason. Very calm, very good
Speaker 3: in a stressing situation. And a team leader as well.
Speaker 3: What a man, What a wonderful, wonderful man.
Speaker 1: I filmed a show once and I was in a
Speaker 1: green room with him for about two hours. You know
Speaker 1: when they put you in a green room forever when
Speaker 1: they're filming a TV show and you look at who's
Speaker 1: in the green room and you think, oh fuck, I've
Speaker 1: got to talk to this Person's bloody job for the
Speaker 1: next half now. Anyway, we were in there for ages
Speaker 1: while they were setting up. It was hughesy, we have
Speaker 1: a problem, so Dave Hughes's show. So I spent a
Speaker 1: name with Priston. This is about five years ago, mind you,
Speaker 1: and he was delightful and good to look at as well.
Speaker 3: Yes, he's a very lovely man and he let his
Speaker 3: hair go living shade and looks like a rugged James Bond.
Speaker 3: But I've got a feeling Australian might go for a
Speaker 3: big personality, you know, your callum and but you know,
Speaker 3: if there was any justice in the world, it'll go
Speaker 3: to Tristan.
Speaker 1: Okay, great, I have to wrap up. But the last
Speaker 1: thing I ask anyone who joins my podcast, and I'm
Speaker 1: so delighted. Let me tell you that you have been
Speaker 1: on my podcast. Like there's some people you think you'd
Speaker 1: never get the chance to speak to, so this is
Speaker 1: so exciting for me.
Speaker 3: Well, thank you, Ben, And honestly, Ben, I'm going to
Speaker 3: be in Melbourne in about three weeks. I'll do make
Speaker 3: sure we keep in touch somehow, and you have to
Speaker 3: come to the gig. I will, as you said, be
Speaker 3: in the front row and I'll tend some secrets after after.
Speaker 1: The show, I'm taking you out for a drink, buddy.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I think that I'm taking you up on
Speaker 1: that offer. But just before you go, what is something
Speaker 1: from behind the scenes of what it's like to be
Speaker 1: a celebrity that gets asked to do the show? Now,
Speaker 1: I'm fully aware that you don't know what we have seen,
Speaker 1: but what about something that is kind of like a
Speaker 1: behind the scenes secret of when you get asked to
Speaker 1: do this.
Speaker 3: Show, well, when you get asked to do a show
Speaker 3: like this, a couple of things go through your mind.
Speaker 3: You think, a hy is there's some sort of secret plan?
Speaker 3: Do you want to expose you for something? And then
Speaker 3: you've kind of think it's a challenge. What a challenge
Speaker 3: it would be to go into a situation where you
Speaker 3: are devoid on any electronics, no word from the outside world,
Speaker 3: from friends or family or news. Can you cope? Can
Speaker 3: you cope surviving on the basic that we need to divide,
Speaker 3: basic food, basic sleeping conditions, at one with nature? Can
Speaker 3: you do it? Does no matter what age you are.
Speaker 3: And if you can do that, you can do.
Speaker 2: Anything that is amazing? And you, my friend, amazing.
Speaker 1: You are now an Australian legend, a global legend before,
Speaker 1: but now an Australian legend. And I think everyone has
Speaker 1: opened their hearts to you. And I really can't wait
Speaker 1: to see what doors open for you from this experience
Speaker 1: because I kind of feel like, out of everyone in there,
Speaker 1: you have the most to offer and you're going to
Speaker 1: be welcomed the most, if that's possible.
Speaker 3: Well, that's such a lovely thing to say, and thank
Speaker 3: you very much. I wrote said I tried to be
Speaker 3: my authentic self. I don't normally have an opportunity to
Speaker 3: open up like I did on this program. And I'm
Speaker 3: so grateful to the producers and the behind the tunes
Speaker 3: folks who let that happen, because, as I say, I've
Speaker 3: got no idea what they showed. And you know, after
Speaker 3: three days, you cannot be anything but be yourself, and
Speaker 3: if that showed, I am very humble and grateful for
Speaker 3: the opportunity to speak for the charity that I was
Speaker 3: rooting for. And a long may this continued, of.
Speaker 1: Course, you know, I mean, you could have taken a
Speaker 1: lot of people out of the show and it would
Speaker 1: have been the same show. But I will finish on
Speaker 1: saying it wouldn't have been the same series with Andrew,
Speaker 1: So thank you. I have to let you go because
Speaker 1: they're going to shove you on a car and take
Speaker 1: you somewhere else, hopefully without a blindfold, and hopefully somewhere
Speaker 1: where they're going to give you something good date.
Speaker 3: Thank you very much, Ben, and I'll see raised in
Speaker 3: a seat
Speaker 2: Think, take care of yourself.