HUGGY BEAR star Antonio Fargas has joined the I’m A Celeb line-up at the eleventh hour, TV Biz can reveal.
The actor, who became a ’70s icon playing the super-cool informant in Starsky and Hutch, has signed a £75,000 deal to head to the Australian jungle.
Antonio has taken on cult status among rappers and appeared in videos for Snoop Dogg.
One ITV insider said: “Like Huggy Bear, Antonio has become a huge icon and is seen as incredibly cool by his fans.
“He is heavily involved in music but is also still in touch with his Starsky and Hutch co-stars David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser.
“But he also has a cheeky sense of humour.â€
The 6ft 1in actor last year appeared in BBC1 drama Holby City playing a musician suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
He recently said: “I’d like to think people are starting to see me as a little bit beyond the Starsky and Hutch cool guy, which was four years out of my whole career.â€
Antonio, 58, is due to fly out to Australia in the next few days.
Meanwhile, Emma B last night sensationally QUIT I’m A Celebrity — 36 hours before she was due to fly out.
The blonde model, 24, and boyfriend Brian Harvey were set to become the show’s first couple.
Former East 17 frontman Brian will STILL take part. But Emma feared the time in the Aussie jungle would strain their relationship.
She said: “We don’t row very often but I was worried the pressure on us in the jungle could have caused problems.â€
She will stay in a five-star hotel while he roughs it in Murwillumbah, New South Wales.
I’m A Celebrity starts on Sunday with Sophie Anderton, Vic Reeves’ wife Nancy Sorrell, Brian Harvey, ex-royal butler Paul Burrell, Three Degrees star Sheila Ferguson, Natalie Appleton, comedian Joe Pasquale, Page 3 legend Jilly Johnson and Kylie’s ex-boyfriend James Gooding.
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The Sun