Stage show pokes fun at disgraced Duke with ‘I’m A Celeb’ prediction
Prince Andrew’s future took a theatrical twist this week as a new West End stage play hilariously imagined the Duke of York joining I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here in 2026.
The satirical production By Royal Appointment, written by Victoria creator Daisy Goodwin and staged at London’s Richmond Theatre, takes a humorous look at the royal family's inner workings, drawing inspiration from the late Queen Elizabeth II’s relationship with her trusted dresser, Angela Kelly.
In one standout moment, the narrator leaps ahead to 2026 and delivers a surprise update about the monarch’s "favourite son": “The Duke of York has signed up for I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here.” The line sent the audience into fits of laughter.
While clearly fictional, the scene resonated due to Prince Andrew’s ongoing withdrawal from public life. After being stripped of his royal patronages and military titles amid scandal, the 65-year-old royal has largely kept out of the spotlight, living at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park with his former wife, Sarah Ferguson.
Though unlikely, the jungle prediction plays off a trend of royal-adjacent figures taking part in the hit reality show. Mike Tindall, husband to Zara Tindall, placed fourth in 2022, while Princess Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell and royal commentator Jennie Bond have also appeared on the show.
The four-night run of By Royal Appointment follows the royal story from King Charles’s investiture in 1969 to the modern day, blending history and satire to spotlight both reverence and ridicule—especially in the case of Prince Andrew’s imagined 2026 comeback.
