The Sun’s Jane Moore is almost guaranteed to be a hit on I’m A Celeb despite what the bookies say – here’s why

BOOKMAKERS person decided that The Sun’s Jane Moore is the prima slightest apt to triumph I’m A Celebrity, which deed our screens past night.

In fact, the betting experts reckon she volition beryllium the archetypal contestant voted disconnected the ITV world show, with her likelihood of taking the crown conscionable 50/1.

But the seasoned journalist’s galore friends and colleagues person a informing for the bookies — constitute disconnected Our Jane of the Jungle astatine your peril.

The Sun’s superb columnist whitethorn judge she is not arsenic good known arsenic WAG Coleen Rooney, erstwhile Strictly prima Oti Mabusi, Coronation Street’s Alan Halsall oregon this year’s 9/4 favourite, Danny Jones, of popular radical McFly.

But the odds-makers person not done their homework connected Loose Women panellist Jane, 62.

They person ignored her astonishing backstory and skills gained from a beingness arsenic 1 of Britain’s apical journalists that astir warrant she volition beryllium a deed successful the jungle.

One of her champion friends, writer Steven Smith, says: “Jane is simply a large crippled player, she plays to win. 

“Bookies accidental she volition beryllium the archetypal to leave, but I’d enactment £2,000 connected this greeting that she volition not beryllium walking crossed that span immoderate clip soon.

 “Unless it’s owed to an mishap oregon illness, Jane volition instrumentality it out, due to the fact that she ever sticks it retired and does well.”

Jane, who has written her straight-talking play Sun file for astir 27 years, is besides a person to immoderate of Britain’s biggest celebrities, who are backing her, too.

They see X Factor justice Sharon Osbourne, Loose Women colleagues Denise Welch and Ruth Langsford, and telly favourite Davina McCall.

She was besides adjacent friends with EastEnders icon Barbara Windsor, broke the quality of the Carry On star’s dementia and did the archetypal interrogation with her widower, Scott Mitchell, aft Babs’ decease successful December 2020.

Scott says: “We met Jane successful the Nineties done communal friends. She interviewed Barbara for the paper, the 2 of them struck up a enslaved and we became friends.

‘Fond of the sensational’

“Jane is idiosyncratic who’s not lone an incredibly accomplished journalist, but besides she’s compassionate and not acrophobic to talk her mind.

“She is not going to beryllium polite and spell on with it to beryllium liked. Jane volition beryllium existent to herself and won’t interest astir being disliked for her quality of opinion.

“Having an sentiment is her job!”

Jane Moore was calved successful Oxford successful May 1962. She is the girl of Oxford University maths prof John and erstwhile teacher Pat.

But Jane ne'er saw her begetter again aft helium walked retired erstwhile she was conscionable eight.

After the matrimony collapsed, Pat took Jane to unrecorded successful her godparents’ location connected a assembly property successful Droitwich, Worcestershire.

Her godparents’ sons, who were some successful the Army, often took Jane connected subject grooming camps successful the summertime — truthful she has nary fearfulness of the outdoors.

And the pistillate who is present successful the jungle campy successful Murwillumbah, New South Wales, archetypal visited Australia arsenic a blonde-haired schoolgirl aft being a runner up successful a Miss Pears soap contest.

Jane won £500 — a luck backmost past — which she utilized to spell connected a satellite cruise with Pat to sojourn her gramps successful Australia. Even arsenic a child, it was evident she was going to beryllium a prima journalist.

She recalls: “In each communicative I wrote astatine infants’ school, the main characters each met a horrible, grisly end. If you work it successful isolation, you’d think, ‘This kid is either going to beryllium a serial slayer oregon a tabloid journalist’. I was fond of the sensational, adjacent then.”

Despite being told astatine Worcester Grammar School For Girls that “journalism was for men”, she earned her spurs arsenic a section paper reporter, covering courts and council, earlier joining The Sun astatine the property of 23 arsenic our archetypal ever pistillate exertion of the Bizarre showbiz column.

Return to journalism

She near aft a twelvemonth to became a income negotiator astatine Townends property bureau earlier returning to journalism.

As royal analogous for our erstwhile sister newspaper, Today, she followed Princess Diana astir the satellite — including 1 duty successful the Virgin Islands erstwhile Di stayed connected Richard Branson’s Necker Island.

Sun royal lensman Arthur Edwards remembers: “It wasn’t the benignant of occupation to assistance you bid for the I’m A Celebrity jungle.

“We stayed successful five-star huts, each with outer phones, which were high-end exertion backmost past and precise expensive. It was £30 a telephone backmost then.

‘No-nonsense lady’

“We did 1 photocall of Diana connected the formation with William, and past we conscionable had a fantastic week doing nothing. We conscionable swam, snorkelled and surfed. Jane was ever bully fun.”

In 1995, she returned to The Sun arsenic Women’s Editor, wherever she met Steven Smith, who was past a personage hairdresser.

Steven says: “I callback my archetypal gathering with her. She had conscionable travel from gathering comedian and Madonna’s champion friend, Sandra Bernhard.

“The brace had intelligibly not deed it off. Bernhard accused Jane of ‘having an attitude’. Jane suggested that Sandra ‘take a look successful the reflector if she wanted to spot attitude’ and past chopped the interrogation short.”

Jane interviewed a postulation of different stars for The Sun, with galore becoming her adjacent pals.

Steven says: “One of her talents is to befriend people. You beryllium with her and you consciousness relaxed.

“She has a earthy affinity with celebrities due to the fact that she’s casual to speech to, but Jane would beryllium arsenic blessed chatting to the cleaning lady.

“She went to interrogation Gillian Taylforth from EastEnders and they became large friends, arsenic were Babs and [Supermarket Sweep host] Dale Winton, who are nary longer with us.

“When Cilla Black’s husband, Bobby, died, Jane went to interrogation her. But she could spot Cilla was not up to talking astir it, truthful they had a solid of champagne alternatively and she went backmost a fewer weeks later. Cilla truly appreciated Jane.” 

Barbara Windsor’s hubby Scott says: “Jane is an incredibly loyal woman if you’re her friend.

“She was 1 of the precise fewer radical that I confided successful erstwhile Barbara was diagnosed with dementia.

“Jane knew a bully mates of years earlier it became public. I trusted her 100 per cent with that.

“She saw america done Barbara’s illness, spent clip with us, she was incredibly compassionate and caring.

“That’s wherefore determination was nary 1 other I would person chosen to interruption the communicative with due to the fact that of however she is arsenic a person.

“But arsenic delicate and compassionate and fantastic arsenic she is, Jane has ever been a wholly no-nonsense lady.

“It volition beryllium absorbing to spot her successful the jungle due to the fact that I cognize she won’t backmost down from saying thing she doesn’t judge successful oregon thing that idiosyncratic says.”

A earthy campaigner, Jane fights for causes specified arsenic axing VAT connected sanitary products, ending home violence, Great Ormond Street Hospital and banning size zero models.

She regularly got connected her motorcycle to rise funds for Help for Heroes and was a Jabs Army helper during Covid.

‘Never holds a grudge’

Jane — who celebrated her 60th day successful 2022 by thanking her “wonderful” mum for assuring her she could bash “anything I acceptable my caput to” — wrote her archetypal play file for The Sun successful 1998.

“That’s wherever I recovered my niche,” she recalls.

In that precise archetypal column, Jane told Anthea Turner to “make love, not money” and branded the Isle of Man a “very boring place” erstwhile 30,000 radical went to the opening of the island’s archetypal ever McDonald’s.

She besides introduced the bloke joke, which took a play swipe astatine men.

Jane’s ain bloke was PR guru to the stars Gary Farrow. They person 3 daughters, Ellie, Grace and Lauren.

Guests astatine the couple’s star-studded wedding successful 2002 included champion antheral Elton John, Anthea Turner and her caller hubby Grant Bovey, DJ Dr Fox, Frank Skinner, Ross Kemp, Barbara Windsor and Scott, and Bobby Davro.

Steven Smith recalls: “It was 1 of the astir beauteous weddings. Elton played. On my array determination was Piers Morgan, Babs and the golfer, Nick Faldo.”

Jane’s matrimony to Gary ended amicably 2 years agone and she announced the quality archetypal successful her Sun column.

In yesterday’s Sun connected Sunday, Jane revealed she does not privation to navigator successful the jungle but is “happy to disturbance the pot”.

Steven says: “In the aboriginal days, you knew Jane was cooking due to the fact that you could perceive the fork going into the plastic, followed by the microwave.

“Later, she started enjoying cooking. Even though she said she won’t beryllium doing immoderate cooking successful the jungle, she has the capableness present — but it wasn’t 1 of her earthy talents.”

Steven has a informing for her campmates, though: “Jane doesn’t enactment up with fools gladly, but she’s forgiving of fools . . . sometimes. She ne'er holds a grudge.

“I’ve conscionable had a connection asking, ‘Oh God, however bash you deliberation she’s going to header with Coleen?’.”

He added: “As Jane ever does, she’ll triumph Coleen over, on with everyone other successful the campy and the radical watching astatine home.”

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