Thatcher wins I'm a Celeb as ITV audiences hit 13m

It marks the jungle reality show's best performance of the current series and beat last year's final by 900,000 viewers and four share points.

On leaving the jungle, Thatcher admitted to presenters Ant and Dec that she was "amazed, astonished and gobsmacked to the power of 100" that she had won the show's fifth outing.

With more than 1.3m phone votes received for the final, Owen was the first to be given the boot and Murphy, wife of Liverpool footballer Harry Kewell, was runner-up.

Thatcher's highlights in the reality jungle series include eating a "squelchy" kangaroo's testicle, crashing a Jeep, and urinating and farting in front of her fellow campmates and more than 10m ITV viewers. The plummy-voiced journalist also had to spend a night in a separate camp with fellow "single" contestant Sid Owen.

During her interview, the 52-year-old broadcaster praised the campers for replacing bitchiness with good old fashioned comraderie.

"I was very lucky with my fellow celebs and we were a very harmonious group. We all enjoyed it," she said.

"In previous years, people have left early because they didn't like it there and because of rows but in this programme, thanks to my fellow campers, we replaced acrimonious bickering with amusing banter. It has been a life-enhancing experience."

Thatcher, who has a twin brother Mark, has presented on radio station LBC, as well as writing a biography of her father Sir Denis Thatcher and 'Diary of an Election: with Margaret Thatcher on the Campaign Trail' with her mother.

Before the final, Thatcher was 4/11 favourite to win the show, having started as the 14/1 rank outsider, according to bookmaker William Hill.

Thatcher, who is only the second woman to win the show, succeeds previous winners Tony Blackburn, Phil Tufnell, Kerry Katona and Joe Pasquale.

Most bookies are expecting to give heavy payouts for the win because around 80% of wagers have been for 52-year-old in the last week.

William Hill has also given odds of 50/1 for Thatcher to become an MP and 500/1 to become prime minister.

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