MP NADINE DORRIES has been suspended from the Conservative party after she swapped the political jungle for the Australian rainforest and became a contestant on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.

The show strands C-list celebrities in the Australian wilderness, subjects them to trials involving assorted creepy-crawlies and lets viewers vote them off one by one.

The Tories  said Dorries was being suspended from the parliamentary party until she could return and meet with Chief Whip George Young.

Dorries was criticized by fellow Conservatives for taking up to a month off from her duties to appear on the show. Former Conservative member of Parliament Harry Greenway called the decision “outrageous,” and Home Secretary Theresa May said a lawmaker’s job:

…is in their constituency and in the House of Commons.

But Conservative commentator Tim Montgomerie said appearing on the show, which begins on Sunday on ITV and TV3, could help Dorries “present an image of a Tory MP that defies some of the popular preconceptions and caricatures.”

Dorries told The Sun that she’s going into the jungle because 16 million people watch the show, and “that’s where MPs should be going”.

She’s an outspoken backbencher, best known for her prolific blogging and attempt to restrict access to late-term abortions.

Who else is going in?

Former Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan, Birds of a Feather star Linda Robson, Hugo Taylor from Made in Chelsea, singer Grace Jones, boxer David Haye and Janine from Eastenders (aka Charlie Brooks) are also rumoured to be in Australia preparing for the creepy crawlies.

Ireland’s own Laura Whitmore is also in Oz as she reprises her role as a presenter on the spinoff show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here Now.

Whitmore (right) with fellow presenters Joe Swash and Rob Beckett (Instagram)

- Additional reporting by AP

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