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Duchess Kate's Ibiza-loving uncle calls his niece and Prince William the “saviors of the royal family” and says his playboy lifestyle earned him the nickname “Bunkle”.
Gary Goldsmith, brother of Duchess Kate's mother Carole Middleton, was one of 13 celebrities to appear live on the 23rd series of the ITV1 series, which began on Monday night.
The businessman has had his name linked to a series of scandals, including drug and domestic violence allegations, making him perhaps the show's most controversial housemate.
And despite criticism from Women's Aid over his appearance, show producers will hope he will be of interest to viewers against the backdrop of a difficult period for the royal family.
Duchess Kate's uncle Gary Goldsmith says his family calls him 'Bunkle'
(ITV)
At Monday night's launch, Mr Goldsmith introduced himself and said he was “the uncle of our future queen” and was keen to “correct” his “bad boy reputation”.
And in scenes that will air on Tuesday's episode, he delves further into his life in the royal family and the nickname the members have created for him.
When fellow housemate and former X Factor judge Louis Walsh was asked about his relationships with celebrities, he replied: “I didn't vote. It happened to me and all of a sudden the spotlight is on you.”
Furthermore, he added: “They call me Bunkle! Have you ever heard of Bunkle? Bad old man, apparently every household has one.
“It's hard to catch Kate at the best of times. She has kids and I love the fact that she puts family first.”
Mr Goldsmith also claimed he believed the Prince of Wales and Duchess Kate would be the “saviors of the royal family”. The conversation then turned to the Duchess of Sussex, but Goldsmith's verdict on Meghan has not yet been revealed.
Elsewhere in the episode, Mr Walsh's former X Factor co-star Sharon Osbourne revealed she was planning to return to the UK from Los Angeles in April, admitting: “I miss being here so much.” .
Mrs Osbourne, wife of Black Sabbath star Ozzy Osbourne, joked about living in the US for “a long time” while speaking to theater star Marisha Wallace, adding: And I stayed. Ozzy is from England and we met over there. ”
Duchess Kate's uncle wants to disprove perceptions of Big Brother as a 'villain' (Victoria Jones/Pennsylvania)
(PA archive)
When asked how her husband, who has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, is doing, Mrs. Osborne replied:
“He's already started complaining. I last called him on the way here and he looked miserable.”
The return of Celebrity Big Brother premiered to 2.8 million viewers, according to ITV. The reality show reboot peaked at 3.2 million viewers across all devices, according to overnight ratings.
Celebrity Big Brother follows the commercial version, which was relaunched on ITV in October 2023 after being canceled by Channel 5 due to poor ratings in 2018. Celebrity Big Brother continues on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player from 9pm.
