Who'da thunk it? Not Carl Fogarty that's for sure! But last night he emerged from the Australian outback to be crowned the winner of ITV's hit show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here

The Blackburn Bullet, four times winner of the World Superbike Championship, and hero to thousands of fans suddenly became a hero to millions as a result of his unflinching appetite for tarantulas, hairy worms, kangaroo testicles, camel penis and ostrich anus plus close encounters with ants, snakes and other assorted wildlife.

After two-and-bit weeks mixing it with a motley crew of Z-list celebs, ex-politicians and footballers, and a BBC journalist who clearly thought he was in the wrong place, Fogarty was typically dismissive of the Bushtucker Challenges and other stunts.  He said:"My greatest fear was the people I'd be mixing with. I thought they'd be a bunch of arseholes. As it turned out they were nice, ordinary people and we got on famously.

"It is 15 years since I last stood on top of the podium and I must say this is the most amazing experience of my life. I can't believe it is actually happening."

Clearly Foggy, at the ripe old age of 49, has mellowed. In his prime, he had the ability to start a riot in a telephone box and he was not the most successful Superbike rider of all time by being nice. But in the jungle he and ex-footballer Jimmy Bullard seemed to spend a lot of time cuddling each other and sharp tongued politician Edwina Currie spoke warmly of him.

But it was the people's votes that counted and Old Blue Eyes beat X-Factor hreject Jake Quickenden into second place and Melanie Sykes, short-lived BTSport MotoGP presenter into third. By doing so, watched by an audience of several million, he became the most famous racer we have - even if his last race was 14 years ago.

Eat your heart out Guy Martin. Speeding along a beach at 100mph on a push bike, breaking the water speed record on two wheels watched by the odd million of goggle-eyed viewers on Channel 4, you were the best known motorcycle racer in the UK.

Not any more. Foggy's done you!