I'm A Celeb fans only just realising incredible reason Richard Coles is famous

When Reverend Richard Coles was announced in the 2024 I'm A Celeb line-up, many fans of the show were left scratching their heads.

"Who on Earth is that?" many of you asked, seemingly unaware of the plethora of talents, skills, jobs and expertise under the 62-year-old's belt.

That's right - it turns out that Coles is far from your average Church of England vicar, and actually, there's a pretty iconic reason why he's considered by many to be one of IAC's biggest stars.

For those who haven't caught up with the jungle reality series recently, Coles joined the line-up on Friday night alongside former Love Island bombshell Maura Higgins.

The two arrived into camp with the aim of stirring up some drama - and that they have.

Not only has Maura spilt some shocking tea on her 'real reasoning' for going on the hit dating show back in 2019, but Coles has also been hotly-discussed by viewers for being medically exempt from several trials over an allegedly 'crippling phobia'.

First introduced to viewers, Northampton-born Coles was described as both a Reverend and a writer.

He first began putting pen to paper in the late 1980s, writing with a particular interest in religion for the likes of the Times Literary Supplement and the Catholic Herald.

In the 90s, he attended King's College in London, where he acquired an MA in Theology and began to consider joining the church as a member of the clergy.

The clergyman has a very diverse CV indeed (Karwai Tang/WireImage)

After some years training for the priesthood, Coles was ordained as a Reverend in 2005.

As well as working as a curate in several churches across the UK, the years that followed saw Coles try his hand at writing fiction, releasing several successful murder-mystery novels, as well as several religion-based works of non-fiction.

As his success increased, as did his reputation, and Coles began to frequent our television screens more and more, appearing on the likes of Have I Got News For You, Only Connect, Celebrity MasterChef, Would I Lie to You? and even the 15th series of Strictly.

Oddly enough, however, none of these incredible missions or media stints are how Coles' name originally hit the headlines.

That's because, prior to his religious interests, his priesthood, his telly appearances and his book releases, Coles was part of chart-topping 1980s Britpop band named the Communards.

Yep, you know the two-man group behind hits like 'Don't Leave Me This Way' and 'So Cold the Night'?

Coles was half of Britpop group The Communards (Michael Putland/Getty Images)

Well, after securing a handful of top 10 singles, he and bandmate Jimmy Somerville went their separate ways.

While Coles found a calling to God when they split in 1988, Sommerville pursued a solo music career.

Coles' musical past has only just been uncovered by some younger viewers, after one prolific TikTok creator named Brooke Hewer this week claimed she'd made the 'discovery' after recognising him on her TV screen.

"Are you kidding me," she asked on a video of him. "Is that common knowledge, or have I just been living under a rock?

"Stop it, he's an icon."

By the sounds of things, however, Brooke wasn't the only one unaware of Coles' background in the music biz.

"Omg. How am I only finding this out. Imagine Maura finding out. 'Sorry father'," another joked online.

A third went on: "Omg I'm 54 and have lived under the same rock as you. One of my favourite bands was The Communards. I didn't know this at all."