Jake Quickenden has done it all, rising to fame on The X Factor to his appearances on hit shows like I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here… and most recently had success with his podcast Untapped with co-host Spencer Matthews.
In this exclusive Q&A, the star opens up about supporting close friend Chris Hughes in Celebrity Big Brother, balancing fame with fatherhood, and raising money for Sarcoma UK. Speaking to WhichBingo, the home of bingo sites, Jake reflects on his journey and what’s next.
Family Life
We saw on your social media that you are doing the marathon this weekend. How are you feeling ahead of that?
I mean, I was feeling good, but I’ve got a cough. So I’ve got a bad cough and I’ve not run in two weeks because I got an ankle injury. But I’m not bothered about time, really. I’m just going to go enjoy the day and try to raise money for Sarcoma and just enjoy the whole atmosphere because it’s a great day, and it’s supposed to be like 21 degrees, I think.
Have you done it before?
Yeah, I did it two years ago and I hated every minute of it. But I didn’t train at all for that year. So this year I’ve done loads more training and I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed running for like, long distances, to be fair, so I’m really excited for it.
What charity are you doing it for?
I’m doing it for Sarcoma UK. So it’s soft tissue and bone cancer and that is the cancer that sadly took my little brother’s life. So I want to do everything I can.
How much have you managed to raise for it so far, do you think?
About 1100 quid so far. I’ve only posted about it once because it was all quite late. So I’m hoping on the day to get to about three or four grand, hopefully. Fingers crossed. I know it’s tight at the minute with money and everything like that, so I appreciate anyone giving even 50p.
I’ll do the whole video and behind the scenes on the day. I’m hoping that people will then see the link and get behind it and donate a bit more. But it was really late and I know Sarcoma appreciates anything. Like, I probably raised about 50 grand for them over the years. So I’m hoping just to raise a bit more.
Do you think you’re one of reality TV’s biggest success stories?
Oh, God, I. I’d hate to say that if I’m honest. And I’ve loved doing reality shows. I really have. Like, obviously I started on the X Factor, The Jungle, Dancing on Ice, SAS Who Dares Wins and MasterChef. Like, there’s been so many and I’ve really enjoyed every single one of them.
But I’m also enjoying expanding into other things. Like, I’m acting a lot more now. I’ve just finished a stage play where I was the lead. It’s my first leading role. So that was wicked.
But I’d say that I’m more thankful and humbled that I’m still around, getting work and I’m still plodding along in this crazy industry. But I think there’s probably a reason for that, I do kind of like hard work and I don’t feel I ever do enough. So I’ll continue to just kind of work my ass off and hopefully continue to work.
How is it being away from your family for long periods?
It’s obviously really hard. But the beauty in what I do is I can be away for a few months filming or I can be away for a few months with a show and only home at the weekends or whatever. But then when that’s finished, I get to be at home a lot of the time. So if I’m at home four days, four full days of the week, it’s not just like in the morning at night, if I was to work a 9 to 5, I’m actually there full days. It probably works out similarly that I’d see him as just the same.
But I miss the kids massively when I’m away and like, being a dad for me is my favorite thing in the world. So I do miss them massively, but everything I do is kind of for them. I want to set them up for a decent life and I want to give them a decent amount of savings and stuff like that.
But it’s obviously hard, but as a parent, everyone knows that it’s hard to be away from your kids, but it’s what you’ve got to do to earn money. This has been my job for 10 years now.
Celebrity Big Brother & Chris hughes
You are friends with Chris, how do you guys know each other?
So I met Chris years and years ago on Lorraine, actually, the first time I met him and I knew I’d get on with him. He was a lovely kid. And then we did the Celebrity Full Monty together.
From watching him since Love Island series two, he seems to be the same genuine guy now as he was with Kem back then. Do you think the public might be getting a warped perception of him?
He was like that with me on the Full Monty. He finds his person and then he doesn’t let go. I go around his house and he won’t let me sleep in a separate bed. He’s like, stay with me so we can chat. I’m like, we’re not 14 mate. He is very young up there. He’s just a young spirit.
Like, he says the most ridiculous things, it was the same in Love Island. But maybe the audience don’t carry over from Love Island. Some do, but maybe it’s a bit of an older audience where they just don’t understand what he’s like. It’s just a flirty kind of chat that he does.
He’s like it with me. And also people saying he’s playing a game and made friends with Jojo because she’s from Hollywood. He didn’t have a clue Jojo Siwa was. His closest mate is a horse.
When Jojo branched off from Dance Mom’s and was rocking the bow, do you think that was on Chris’ radar at all?
He doesn’t know who people are from his series of Love island at parties and he’s like, who’s that? And I’m like, they were in your year [of love island]. Like, that is Chris. Chris is from a farming background. He likes a simple life, talking about cricket and horses.
Some viewers were saying he might be looking to create some meme worthy moments, do you think that?
That is just the way he is. Like yesterday when he was saying, if you squeeze your thumb, you don’t gag. And I literally commented on the Big Brother page, like, God, this guy speaks some serious crap. Because he does.
He just says the most random stuff, but it’s kind of funny and it’s entertaining. I think people are saying, oh, he’s playing a game, he’s doing this etc. It would have been quite boring, if he wasn’t in the house.
People are fascinated with him and Jojo. Do you think it’s just a friendship?
He just found somebody that he’s connected with, like Kem and me. And he’s gone. ‘I ain’t letting you out my sight because I trust you and I can be myself around you’. That’s all it is. She’s got a partner. He’s exactly like that with me.
How do you feel the other housemates have responded to their friendship? Do you think there’s a bit of jealousy or frustration there, maybe even disappointment that they haven’t formed a bond as strong as theirs?
Yeah. But also, they see them having a laugh and maybe they think, oh, God, they’re gonna get all the camera time. Do you know what I mean? It’s hard to say when you’re not there. We only see one hour.
I found it quite interesting last night that Jack and Chris were chatting and Jack said to Chris, I would have struggled if you weren’t in here, but we haven’t even seen them be friends in the whole show that much. So it proves that he’s actually got other friends. He’s not just friends with Jojo.
I just think to show Jack and Chris being mates isn’t an unlikely friendship. Jojo Siwa and Chris Hughes from different ends of the planet is a more unusual friendship. I mean like I said, he’s from a farm, he doesn’t know how to book a train. And then you’ve got Jojo, who is quite mature for her age and has her head screen screwed on. She’s friends with some big people in Hollywood. Like, it’s an unlikely friendship.
I obviously just think that they’re two people who have just found a genuine friendship and that’s the way it is. She’s obviously made it very clear that she’s in her healthy, happy relationship. It’s just the way Chris is. Like I said he was like with Kem in Love Island. I watched his series when he was in Love island and you could just tell, like he just seems like a very loving person and that’s all. He just needs that comfort blanket in there and I think that that’s what JoJo became to him.
How do you think Jojo has come across?
Really well rounded and I think she’s come across brilliantly. Like, I only knew her from that weird dance, that’s the only reason I knew her. And then obviously she pops up on TikTok every now and again.
But I think everyone should watch people for who they are. Don’t have a misconception and a pre judgment of them and remember you don’t know what someone’s like until you meet them in person anyway.
I mean like you could go on Big Brother and you’re kind of chilled so you don’t get seen as much but then someone meets you in person and they say you are actually really funny.
Do you know what I mean? So you never, you never really know about anyone. But I think her and the final six are all great.
There was also talk that Ella had her sights set on Chris. Did you think anything could have happened between them whilst they were in there?
I mean, it’s hard to say by just looking at two people that are in the industry. Like, you don’t know if you’re going to click with someone. You don’t know if you’ll connect. Like they’re obviously both attractive people, so you’d say, oh, maybe they’ll get together, but you never know until somebody meets someone. And I know Chris is all about the vibes and the personality and whether or not he clicks with someone.
So maybe they just didn’t click on that level. Like Chris’s banter and sense of humor. If you don’t understand it, you don’t find it funny. Do you know what I mean?
She did think he was funny and Chris did like that. So they just went their separate ways in that sense, they just had a friendship and that’s fine. It’s not Celebs go Dating. It’s Big Brother. You know what I mean?
There’s been a lot of chatter online suggesting she might’ve been a bit jealous of his bond with Jojo, maybe because she felt shut out or they just didn’t click. Do you think there could’ve been some jealousy there?
I don’t think she was jealous of the relationship. I think she was more just maybe a bit disappointed that she didn’t have that same connection. I don’t think she’s jealous. If she was warned off Chris before she went in the house, then she wouldn’t want to get with him anyway. So I don’t think it was jealousy.
I think it was more disappointing that she didn’t have that same connection with Chris or maybe anyone else in the house. And, like, if you’re in the house and you see two people getting on like a house on fire, you’re like, oh, I wish I had that. You know what I mean?
I think that’s all it was. Like, I’m not gonna bash the girl. I think she seems like a nice girl. So for me, I just think it was more disappointment that she didn’t find a connection as strong as that. Maybe she did, but it just wasn’t shown.
Do you reckon Chris could win the show?
Nah. I’d like to see him win it, but I don’t think he will. There’s a bit of a campaign people like, either really like him or think he’s played a game, so I don’t think he’ll win. I’d like to see him survive. Maybe one or two more evictions and not finish 6th. But I also think the final six that are left are really great.
Who do you think will win?
I’ve worked with Donna. She’s great. That’s exactly like she is in real life as well. She’s very sarcastic, very funny. She’s a great person.
So I think Danny might win it, actually. Danny or Donna. But Danny’s been good in the house. He said before that he’s a Big Brother superfan. So he would love to win it, I think.
Would you go on Celebrity Big Brother?
After watching this year. Yeah, I think I would. I think it’s been a great cast. I think the trials have been mint and it looks like a lot of fun.
I like meeting new people. I like learning about people. But as I’ve got older, I’m a lot more confrontational if I don’t agree with something. When I done the jungle, I was like a little mouse. Like, I wouldn’t say boo to a goose.
As I’ve got older and I’m a father and that now, like the Mickey thing, I’d have been the first to be like, what are you doing? Stop being a weirdo. But yeah, I’d love to go on. I’d love to have fun. You know, what to expect. Like Chris said yesterday, it’s pantomime isn’t it. Like, people are gonna love you or people are gonna hate you.
Jakes Reality Television Career
Has there been any kind of blunders or embarrassing moments or when things have gone wrong on telly that you can kind of humour us with?
I knocked my two front teeth out doing the jump, actually.
That’s why I’ve got these bad boys [referring to his teeth]. So actually, I was skiing on my day off and I was a reserve, so I was supposed to go on if anyone got injured. I did a backflip on the airbag and my ski hit me in the face. It broke in half and hit one of my teeth and broke the root of the other one. So they were still in.
So I had to stick like this to make sure they didn’t fall out. I had an X ray and I snapped both roots. So there was like, your teeth will eventually die and go brown. So I was like, sweet, that’s a great look. So I decided, I’m getting veneers.
So you’ve been doing your podcast Untapped with Spencer Matthews, how is that going?
We’ve got some guests tomorrow. I’m seeing Spencer today as well, so I’ll probably be bored of him by tomorrow. But yeah, it’s going really well. I love doing it. I love meeting these great people that have done mad things.
It’s really inspiring actually. I’ve known Spencer for years. We did the jump together and then just out the blue, he rang me and was like, we’re gonna do a podcast. And I was like, all right. And then that was it.
Can you settle the long running debate between them? Who do you think is funnier, Spencer or Vogue?
Spencer! No. They’ll get angry at me. They’re both funny. They’re both very funny. Vogue’s funnier. Vogue’s much funnier than Spencer.
People judge Spencer before they meet him because of what he’s gonna be like. But then they meet him and he’s literally a funny guy and he’s also really annoying in a great way. Like I have energy and we’re on par where we’re competing in energy all the time. It’s like this is exhausting. But he’s a lovely kid. Yeah. But yeah, Vogue’s much funnier.
What show’s would you like to do in the future?
Show wise, race around the world I’m a huge fan of. I think I’d be great on that with my mum who’s also now like a social media personality in her own right with 90,000 followers. My mum’s smashing it. So Mrs. Quickenden is hilarious as well. So I’d like to do that. Obviously I’ve done X Factor and Dancing on Ice. So I just need Strictly for the bingo card on that one.
I also want to do The Masked Singer. Like guys, I’m a singer. Get me on that show. They did a I’m a celebrity special and still didn’t ask me. I want to show people when I’m in a mask and I sing, they’ll probably be like, who’s this? He’s not bad. And then I’ll take my mask off and they’ll go, oh. But that’s what I want to prove, that I can actually sing. Do you know what I mean?
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