{"id":293625,"date":"2025-12-01T20:14:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T20:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/293625\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T20:14:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T20:14:11","slug":"angry-ginges-mum-shares-incredible-story-of-his-im-a-celeb-journey-for-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/293625\/","title":{"rendered":"Angry Ginge’s mum shares incredible story of his I’m A Celeb journey for first time"},"content":{"rendered":"

Angry Ginge’s mum Michelle sits down with the Mirror to talk about her son’s astonishing rise from his council house bedroom through to wowing viewers on I’m A Celebrity<\/p>\n

18:00, 01 Dec 2025Updated 18:19, 01 Dec 2025<\/p>\n

\"OpeningOpening up: Angry Ginge’s mum Michelle (Image: Tim Merry\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

Sitting on a five-star hotel balcony in Australia overlooking the South Pacific, single mum Michelle still cannot quite believe how far her son has come. A few years ago she was juggling low-paid jobs and worrying about the mortgage on their ex-council house in Eccles, Salford<\/a>, while her teenage lad shouted at a computer screen in his bedroom.<\/p>\n

Now that same boy, Morgan Burtwistle – better known to millions as Angry Ginge<\/a> – is the bookies\u2019 favourite to be crowned King of the Jungle. \u201cI never ever thought in a million years I\u2019d ever be coming to Australia<\/a> but to be coming for this reason as well\u2026none of us can believe it,\u201d Michelle says.<\/p>\n

She has also inadvertently found herself centre stage when Ginge told millions of viewers of the sacrifices she made for him<\/a>, and his older sister Tasha, while growing up. He explained that she\u2019d finish her first job, and \u201cthen go to her second job then go to her third job and then get home.\u201d He added: \u201cIf she can do it then I can do this in the jungle, so that\u2019s what keeps me going really.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AngryAngry Ginge’s mum Michelle sat down with the Mirror(Image: Tim Merry\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

Michelle says that money was tight, and every broken boiler or unexpected bill landed squarely on her shoulders. To keep things afloat, she took whatever work she could find. \u201cI\u2019ve done everything. I\u2019ve worked in school kitchens. I\u2019ve done cleaning. I\u2019ve done residential care homes for the elderly. It was a very hard time,\u201d she says. When Ginge was 18, Michelle was forced to sell the family home and move somewhere cheaper. He moved in with his Nana round the corner to ease the pressure. \u201cHe moved in with his Nan because I was struggling to pay the mortgage,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt was hard but he\u2019s like, \u2018mum, just do it. It\u2019ll be fine. I\u2019m with Nan. We\u2019re only up the road. Everything will be all right.\u2019 So that made me feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Michelle worked every hour, her son was quietly starting the online career that would change both their lives. Not that she had a clue what was going on at first. \u201cI\u2019d never even heard of what he was doing before he started doing it\u2026I couldn\u2019t get my head around it,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n

His first stream back in 2020, when he was 19, peaked at just 40 viewers and earned \u00a312.44. He almost quit. But when his beloved grandad – and Michelle\u2019s dad – died of Covid in February 2021, it was that loss, and one particular memory, that pushed him to give it one last go. \u201cMorgan used to go to Blackpool every year at Easter for the weekend, and he remembered his granddad saying to someone that he was going to be a millionaire one day, because there\u2019s no beating him at Monopoly,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"AngryMichelle and Morgan as a boy(Image: Burtwistle family)<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what reminded Morgan of my dad saying that, but then he went back online in the March, and the streaming took off again.\u201d She realised he had hit the big time when one of his broadcasts saw 85,000 people tune in, as well as football stars such as Wayne Rooney<\/a>, who later became a friend. \u201cOne day he turned around and said to me \u2018I\u2019ve been invited to Wayne Rooney\u2019s son\u2019s christening,\u201d she laughs. \u201cIt was unreal as Wayne was his idol, and used to have posters of him on his wall.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the jungle, viewers watched as Ginge broke down over the emotional letter from home, in which Michelle told him his grandad would be proud. And she says that it was her dad that inspired his Angry Ginge name. \u201cHe used to call him Ginge, because he always used to laugh and joke with him, calling him a ginger -headed b******,\u201d she laughs. For Michelle, seeing him cry on screen is everything she always taught him. \u201cI\u2019ve always said to him never hide your feelings, if you want to cry, then you cry,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"AngrySo proud: Mum Michelle (Image: Tim Merry\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

That sensitivity has always been there, even if the world<\/a> now knows him as the fiery gamer shouting at his monitor. As a boy he struggled with homesickness. \u201cWe used to go to caravan parks and Pontins<\/a>, and every time we went, he\u2019d wake up in the night and be sick,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen he was younger, he never stayed out at any friends.\u201d He eventually grew out of it by the time he did his Duke of Edinburgh Award.<\/p>\n

But his wobble in camp, when he admitted he was missing home, did not surprise her. \u201cWe speak every day or couple of days,\u201d she says. \u201cI think that\u2019s what was hard. He couldn\u2019t just pick up his phone and go, \u2018hi mum.\u2019 He\u2019s not been away this long before.\u201d Before he was Angry Ginge, he was a cheeky but hard-working schoolkid. \u201cHe had a few sneaky moments, but he was never really naughty, even in school, in fact he was even the head boy,\u201d Michelle smiles. \u201cHe got done for selling Lucozade a few times when he wasn\u2019t supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before flying out to Australia, she says he was wracked with nerves, but she gently put his mind at rest. \u201cHe said \u2018I don\u2019t know how I\u2019m going to cope, because these people are all famous and I\u2019m not. And if I don\u2019t know who they are, how do I ask what it is they do? I\u2019ll feel awful.\u2019 \u201cI said \u2018they\u2019ll probably be asking you the same\u2019 so don\u2019t worry.\u201d She also had one clear piece of advice: mind your language.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he started streaming, I used to say to him you need to stop that swearing and calm down,\u201d she says. \u201cI got used to it in the end but when he was coming in here, I said he had to tone it down. He said: \u2018I\u2019m trying mum, I\u2019m trying.\u2019 It just becomes natural to him without him knowing he\u2019s doing it. Some of his behaviour in camp has been very familiar to her. His reluctance over chores, for a start. \u201cHe used to moan about it at home. If I moaned and moaned and moaned, he\u2019d eventually do it but I wasn\u2019t surprised,\u201d she says. So has his terror of creepy-crawlies. \u201cWhere he lives, there are bins at the side of the house. And if it\u2019s nighttime, and if he hasn\u2019t got a light, he refuses to put them out. It\u2019s that bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has loved watching his bond with best mate Aitch<\/a> play out in camp, as well as the way he interacts with Ruby Wax<\/a>. \u201cHe didn\u2019t know who she was when he saw the lineup? I said, \u2018well, you have to watch a few of her You Tubes, and he thought she was funny on them.\u2019 But the thing with Morgan is, as well, he is close to his Nana, so I think he sees a bit of Nan in Ruby, like when she emptied the rice and that on the floor and he was like: \u2018you can\u2019t do that.\u2019”<\/p>\n

After previously counting every penny, things are now easier. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t see me struggle now. He always says to me \u2018ask me if you need anything.\u2019 He\u2019s really good like that.\u201d As the votes roll in, Michelle is still pinching herself at the public reaction. \u201cIt\u2019s because he just comes across as himself. He\u2019s not trying to be anybody. He\u2019s just a genuine person and caring, and that\u2019s the way he\u2019s always been.I am so proud of him.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Angry Ginge’s mum Michelle sits down with the Mirror to talk about her son’s astonishing rise from his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[106127,96,6463,99618,391,56,54,55,28552],"class_list":["post-293625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-angryginge","tag-entertainment","tag-im-a-celebrity-get-me-out-of-here","tag-ruby-wax","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wayne-rooney"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}