Could Burrell be King?

Former Royal butler Paul Burrell is emerging as a surprise contender to take the I'm A Celebrity crown.

The 46-year-old has rocketed into second place behind current favourite Joe Pasquale - with his odds now at 3-1 after starring at 7-1.

He has surged forward ahead of broadcaster Janet Street-Porter, with whom he was neck-and-neck earlier this week.

She has slumped to odds of 16-1 and faced eviction for the first time last night against Antonio "Huggy Bear" Fargas.

Father-of-two Burrell has overturned public expectation with his cheery demeanour, his habit of belting out Broadway show tunes and ability to give as good as he gets with Street-Porter.

Even the guru of "yoof " TV, formerly his biggest critic, has been won round. "In me he's found his perfect sparring partner," said 57-year-old Street-Porter.

Pasquale added: "From what I had read I am surprised, but we get on really well."

And bra model Sophie Anderton insisted: "He's a complete gentle-man." His wife Maria says the public has been faced with the real Burrell: "We told him not to sing but he does, everywhere - washing the car, in the bath, gardening. You can't stop him. He has been painted as a creep and a monster but I think people are now seeing him as he is, as a bit of a clown. He likes to have fun and I think he's really enjoying it."

Musing on his survival so far, Burrell told camp mates: "I wouldn't have believed two weeks ago that I would be sitting here in front of this fire. On the first day I thought it would be me going out."

However, the fourth series of the ITV reality show looks set to pull in the poorest viewing figures yet.

Audiences have so far averaged just 8.1 million viewers, two million less than at the same stage in the third series in February.