I’m A Celebrity: who is Karma Chameleon singer Boy George, what is his real name, and why did he go to prison?

I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here has returned to our screens for 2022 with some familiar faces, including radio presenter Chris Moyles, former Lioness footballer Jill Scott, and former rugby player Mike Tindall.

The lineup also features 1980s pop icon Boy George, who is rumoured to be one of the highest-paid stars ever on the show and he could take home a whopping fee of £500,000.

The 62-year-old struggled to hold back tears after former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, 44, entered the I’m A Celebrity camp on Wednesday night, after revealing that his mother was in the hospital during the covid pandemic.

But who is the singer from London, and why did he go to prison?

Here’s everything you need to know.

Who is Boy George?

Boy George was born in Eltham, London, on 14 June 1961 and is the second of five children.

The 62-year-old English singer, songwriter, DJ, and fashion designer burst onto the scene during the New Romantic movement in the late 1970s to early 1980s.

He was raised in a working-class Irish Catholic family; his father was born in England of Irish descent, and his mother is from Dublin.

He has an estimated net worth of around $35 million (£26.5m).

What is Boy George known for?

George is the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club formed in London in 1981.

The band, featuring Boy George, Roy Hay, Mikey Craig and formerly Jon Moss, are considered one of the most representative and influential groups of the 1980s.

At the height of the band’s fame in the 1980s, they recorded a series of global hit songs such as Karma Chameleon, Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, and Love Is Love.

The Culture Club frontman is known for his soulful voice and flamboyant and eccentric style, inspired by glam rock pioneers David Bowie and Marc Bolan.

What is Boy George’s real name?

The singer’s real name is George Alan O’Dowd, but he chose to use the stage name Boy George when he formed Culture Club in 1981.

George has used a series of stage names throughout his career.

In the late 1970s, he was known as Lieutenant Lush in the band Bow Wow Wow.

During his solo career in the 1990s, he used the stage name Angela Dust.

Why did Boy George go to prison?

Boy George was sentenced to 15 months in prison in 2009, after being convicted of assault and false imprisonment.

The singer handcuffed the Norwegian model and male escort, Audun Carlsen, to a wall and beat him with a metal chain.

Carlsen told the jury he was only able to get free after breaking the fixture.

He recently spoke about the incident and said it is “hurtful” that ITV has platformed Boy George on I'm A Celebrity.

Audun told the Mirror: “Had I been a woman and he did what he did, he would never have been given the platform. It’s hurtful that big organisations like ITV give him that platform."

George also had a run-in with the law in 2006, when he was sentenced to community service after pleading guilty to making a false police report about a burglary at his New York apartment.