Read's first out of the jungle

Mike Read was enjoying the luxury facilities of a top-class Australian hotel today after becoming the first celebrity to get the boot from the jungle camp in ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

The voting public ousted the former Radio One DJ after eight days in the Australian outback, leaving the remaining nine to battle it out
Former BBC royal reporter Jennie Bond, 53, and Mike, 51, had the fewest votes.

The remaining nine in the third series of the show are John Lydon, 47, Kerry McFadden, 23, Diane Modahl, 37, Neil "Razor" Ruddock, 35, Alex Best, 32, Peter Andre, 30, Lord Brocket, 52, Jennie Bond and Jordan, 25.

Diane had been the odds on favourite to leave at 2/5 with Mike second favourite at 9/4, according to bookmakers William Hill.

The remaining contestants said they would miss Mike's singing, his humour and his wisdom, calling him the "camp comedian".

Jennie said: "Mike is so knowledgeable it's frightening. He knows so much about so many things. He's also got a lovely singing voice."

Peter called him the "gentleman's gentleman".

"He's a very, very polite man. He's always wanting to do things to please others," he added.

But Mike put his early eviction down to not having a Bushtucker Trial under his belt.

He told ITV hosts Ant and Dec: "Since the first day I haven't had to counter a spider or snake and I thought, wonderful nobody wants to persecute me.

"But it gives you something to do. If you go and do something like that, people think 'Wow. Look at that. That's fantastic.'

"But if you don't get to do a Bushtucker Trial you probably look like a lazy slob enjoying yourself and not doing anything."

Mike nominated Diane to do the next Trial, entitled Row For Your Life and involving "water, a boat and some local wildlife", according to Ant and Dec.

He picked Diane because "she is probably keen to get out and do something".

As he munched on snacks, the ex-breakfast show host said the toughest challenge had been the lack of food, with all the contestants suffering from hunger pangs.

But he said surviving the experience was down to the camaraderie among the group.

"We got on really well as a team, really well as mates," he said.

"That's the way to keep things together. If you all get on well as a team.

"We are really a bunch of primates thrown together. If you become isolated from the team or the pack you become weaker."

"Everyone's their own character," added Mike. "You learn to accept that you either adapt to that or you don't."

Speaking about Johnny's dislike of Jordan, he added: "One person's meat is another man's poison".

"He (Johnny) really took against her and was very unhappy. He's mad as a hatter but I like him. Sometimes I think he's lost it but it's just him letting off steam in a cathartic way."

Mike quelled rumours of a burgeoning romance between glamour model Jordan, 25, real name Katie Price, and 90s pop singer Peter, 30.

"It's just a fun thing really. I don't think there's a major love affair. It's fun flirting rather than serious flirting."

Bookies had Johnny favourite to win the reality survival show, with Coral citing odds of 13-8, while Jordan was second favourite to win at 11-4.

Bookmaker William Hill has Diane 10/11 favourite to be the next person evicted, with Jenny 6/4 second favourite and all the others 10/1 or longer odds.

The final will take place six days, when the winner of this year's reality contest will be revealed.