While he first found fame on the ’90s pop scene, it was in 2004 that Peter Andre really became a household name, after appearing on the third series of I’m A Celeb. As the contestants took part in a variety of terrifying challenges, Peter, 52, got more than he bargained for in the Australian jungle when he found love with Katie Price, who was then still in her glamour model heyday as ‘Jordan’.
The pair married a year later and welcomed children Junior, now 20, and Princess, 18, while also becoming the most powerful couple in reality TV history. Their love story ended in an acrimonious divorce five years later – but now we could see the pair back on our screens together, as Katie, 47, is rumoured to be one of the celebs taking part in the next All Stars series of I’m A Celeb – and so is her ex, Peter!
He tells us, ‘People ask me all the time, “Are you going to do it?” The reason I haven’t jumped is because I’ve already been in the jungle twice. I went in 2004, and then again in 2011, when Fatima Whitbread was there and they put me in for 24 hours. I thought, “Would people really want to see me a third time? Probably not.” But if it gets to the point where they really do, I’d never say never.’
If Pete did decide to reappear alongside Katie, viewers would likely see an explosive showdown. Earlier this month, the singer hit back at Katie’s ‘baseless accusations’ about their history. In an Instagram statement, Pete wrote, ‘For 16 years, I’ve stayed silent in the face of repeated lies from my ex-wife and her family, out of respect for my children and loved ones, but staying silent has been incredibly frustrating. That ends today.’
He went on to say that their kids began living with him and wife Emily MacDonagh ‘for their safety’ in 2018, which he has ‘never made public before out of respect for my children’. He added, ‘Unfortunately, there are many more lies and baseless accusations that I have yet to address. Those will be dealt with in the coming months.’
His strong words came after Katie claimed Pete and his management team had ‘banned’ her from being in their daughter’s new show The Princess Diaries, as they thought of her as ‘trash’ and ‘not welcome’. Of Princess’ ITV series, Pete – who also shares children Amelia, 11, Theo, eight, and one- year-old Arabella with Emily – tells us, ‘This first particular one is about her being here at home, so we’re in it a bit. But actually, what we’re hoping is that she’s just completely on her own and just does it. I’m one of those dads, I’m not pushy, I’m there in the background. I want them to shine on their own.’
But while his eldest children are forging their own careers, with Junior also in the music and acting industries, Peter is more wary of letting his other kids grow up in the public eye. Revealing that Amelia will only be allowed a phone ‘for one hour a weekend, no social media’ when she starts secondary school next month, Peter adds, ‘We all jumped into it headfirst, not knowing the consequences. In the last year or two, especially with AI, what they can do now with imagery is horrific. It’s just more the dangers of social media for now.’
And as Junior has recently moved in with his girlfriend of 16 months, Jasmine Orr, Peter has had to relax some of his stricter, more religion-based parenting rules. ‘Even at 19, I had a girlfriend and she wasn’t allowed to come over,’ he explains. ‘I haven’t been a Jehovah’s Witness since I was 16, but I did sometimes take Princess and Junior to the meetings. When the kids got to about eight or nine, I thought, “No, I don’t want to push them into anything. I want them to discover their own life and decide what they want to do”. It’s almost like, through time, I have been able to change as well.’
Peter stars in The Sunshine Murders, on Channel 5 / Paramount+ this September.