Ferne McCann may not have won I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, but appearing on the show certainly hasn’t done her any harm.
Millions of viewers tuned into the show every night and were delighted by Ferne’s charm, outspokenness and way of downing a live spider.
Her cute romance with George Shelley helped too.
But does the exposure to a huge audience mean that Ferne is now bigger than The Only Way Is Essex?
Could be.
A TOWIE source told heatworld BEFORE I’m A Celeb started:
“Ferne told producers she wouldn't be coming back because she wouldn't need to after *I'm A Celeb*.”
And in the jungle, the Essex one talked about her future career plans, saying: “I’d love to do a radio show and I'd love to be in British dramas, I love Downton Abbey. It's just something that I love to watch and I'd love to do something like that."
Now, we can’t quite see Ferne in Downton, and not just because it’s ending, but we can see her on something like Loose Women.
In fact, she’d be excellent on Loose Women; ITV should totally make that happen.
We know that Ferne is not appearing in TOWIE’s Christmas special, The Only Way Is Essexmas, unlike Gemma Collins, who returned to the show with her tail between her legs after her abortive jungle stint last year.
But is Ferne quitting for good?
An ITV insider told heatworld: “Ferne has no current plans to leave the series.”
Which we all know means precisely diddly-squat.
TOWIE’s loss would be the wider TV world’s gain though. For sure.