McFly are flying high again
Three months ago, their fame was largely confined to the bedroom walls of a dwindling number of teenage girls.
However, two members of pop group McFly – who, by boy band standards, were starting to appear somewhat beyond their sell-by date – are now on course for an unlikely double, having belatedly become household names.
On Saturday evening, bassist Dougie Poynter emerged victorious in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!
He beat the bookmakers’ favourite, Mark Wright – who appeared in ITV2 series the Only Way Is Essex (Towie) – to win the competition and was crowned King Of The Jungle.
And not content with one triumph in a celebrity TV competition, the band’s drummer Harry Judd is the favourite to win the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.
Judd, 25, along with partner Aliona Vilani have been the front-runners from the beginning of the competition.
Last night, Robbie Savage – who has endured an emotional week since the death of his friend Gary Speed – was eliminated, while Judd came fourth in the judges’ votes
However, it is believed McFly’s pop fan base are helping propel them in the public vote.
One source told the Mail: ‘Amongst the other contestants, there is certainly the belief that Harry will win. Pop fans are quite devoted and are pro-active when it comes to these things. For starters, Harry has more than 350,000 followers on Twitter.
‘That’s quite a fan base. Teenage girls tend to follow male pop groups – and they tend to be extremely enthusiastic in their support.’
Poynter – who has more than 522,000 Twitter followers – beat the odds to emerge triumphant.
Bookmaker William Hill had installed Wright, 24, as the 2/5 odds-on favourite to claim victory, with Poynter the 15/8 outsider.
Even Poynter seemed shocked, admitting: ‘I’m lost for words, my mouth is so dry. These have been the best couple of weeks of my life, I wish everybody in the world could experience that.’
Despite battling it out for victory, the two became close friends, with Wright even declaring: ‘He deserves it so much, he is the nicest guy in the whole world.’
Bandmate Judd was thrilled at his friend’s victory, tweeting: ‘Go Dougie!!!! My queen of the jungle!!’
Meanwhile, Wright has been told he can make £1million following his appearance on the show. In Towie, he was paid just £50 a day. But he is said to have been inundated with offers while in the jungle.