Richard Coles opens up about being a gay priest on I’m a Celebrity

On By Littum

I’m a celebrity participant Reverend Richard Coles has said that being gay and in the church never caused him “a twinge of anxiety”.

On Monday’s (November 25) episode of the ITV show, Coles, 62, chatted to content creator GK Barry about juggling his sexuality and religion.

Barry, who opened up about his sexuality and coming out earlier in the series, asked Coles: “Do you find it quite difficult being gay and doing that job?”

Coles then confessed, “No, not at all. I’ve never given it a moment’s tinge of anxiety about whether God thought it was right or not. Whether other people thought it was right or not, I’m happy to have that argument…”

He added of his sexuality: “I wasn’t the first either. Sometimes I look at documents from the early church or the medieval church and I just think – so gay.”

The pair have formed an unlikely friendship in the camp, with Barry admitting to the Bush Telegraph: “I came into this jungle maybe not knowing who I wanted to be with or who I wanted to be close to in here and never in a million years , if you told me I’d do best with a pastor, I would have believed you. But he’s honestly… I think he might be my favorite person in here.”

Coles, a former Church of England minister, lost her husband Reverend David Coles just days before Christmas in 2019. He died at the age of 43 from liver disease caused by an alcohol addiction.

Richard Coles on 'I'm a Celebrity'
Richard Coles on ‘I’m a Celebrity’ (ITV)

In his 2021 book, The Madness of Grief: A Memoir of Love and LossRichard wrote: “It was really, really hard to watch someone you love destroy themselves.

“It’s like someone’s drowning and you throw them a life belt, but they just don’t take the life belt.

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“And I tried everything I could think of to help him stop drinking, and in fairness to him he tried too, but it was too much for him.”

During their partnership, Richard had maintained that he and David lived together on the basis that they did not have sex, as the church’s ministers are required to practice celibacy.

But in an interview with The Times earlier this year Richard indicated that this was untrue and that he and David had lied to continue in their positions in the church.

When journalist Andrew Billen remarked that it would have irritated and upset him to lie about his life like this, Richard replied: “It wears off pretty quickly… I mean, I sometimes felt like I was in the resistance and they were they the Gestapo.

“I mean, I’m exaggerating, but what I felt is that they had no moral reason, so I didn’t feel like I had a moral obligation at all.

“And I am not the first person to find himself compelled to lie for institutional reasons in the Church of England,” he added.

Richard has also previously stated that he and David, with whom he entered into a civil partnership in 2010, had planned to marry after they both retired. Same-sex marriage is not allowed in the Church of England and could have resulted in both men losing their positions.

Richard resigned as vicar of Finedon, North Northamptonshire, in 2022 because of his belief that the organization excluded gay couples and his disapproval of what he described as its “conservative, hard-line and fundamentalist” direction.

He has been in a relationship with actor Richard Cant since 2023.

The former vicar first rose to fame as part of 1980s band Communards, who scored three UK top 10 hits, including “Don’t Leave Me This Way”.

Since then he has appeared on various radio and television shows, including BBC Radio 4’s Saturday live program, QI, would I lie to you? and Do I have news for you.