WITH its reality TV stars, former ministers and party grandees, the South West is easily shaping up to be the UK’s most interesting constituency in the European parliamentary elections.

Because the south west - which includes Dorset - also includes the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, the Echo understood the candidate list was due to be published 24 hours before the rest of the country. However, at time of going to press it had not been made public.

Unofficially there would appear to be at least 36 candidates representing seven parties, vying for six places in the European Parliament, which the UK voted to leave in 2016.

This week we learned those candidates will include writer Rachel Johnson, former editor of The Lady magazine, sister of the more famous Boris, and star of Celebrity Big Brother in 2018.

A regular on chat shows and the literary circuit - she has a number of best-selling books to her name -Ms Johnson is standing on a pro-People’s Vote ticket for Change UK, the party formed after eight Labour MPs and three Tories quit their parties to form a new movement earlier this year.

It is not her first foray into party politics, either. Rachel Johnson joined the Liberal Democrats in April 2017 but despite being linked with a seat, did not stand for election as an MP.

Her brother is regarded as one of the UK’s most prominent Leavers but Ms Johnson said: “I’m sure that Boris understands why this is not a vote against Boris. This is a vote for change. We need to move the dial. People need to have a say.”

She’ll be up against fellow reality star and former Conservative party minister, Ann Widdecombe, who announced her candidacy for Nigel Farage’s Brexit party yesterday.

Miss Widdecombe, who was in the 2010 Strictly Come Dancing and was runner-up in 2018’s Celebrity Big Brother, was a Home Office Minister in John Major’s government.

Nicknamed ‘Doris Karloff’ for her unbending political views - she converted from the Church of England to Catholicism following the row over the ordination of women - she has lead a lively political and public life, variously contemplating a leadership bid, as well as appearing on the Louis Theroux show. She left parliament in 2010.

Announcing her candidacy she said she wanted to “fire a very loud warning shot across the bows” of the established parties, adding she had felt it necessary to ‘return to the political fray’ to re-affirm “the supremacy of the will of the people”.

“What the Remain campaign failed to achieve by fear must not be achieved by fatigue,” she said.

Another former minister, the prominent Remainer, Lord Adonis, has been chosen as one of the Labour party’s MEP candidates.

Andrew Adonis sits as a crossbencher in the Lords but was appointed minister of State for Education in Tony Blair’s government. He has regularly clashed with opponents including Nigel Farage on Twitter. Mr Farage branded him a ‘twisted weasel’.

The Euro Elections are set to take place on May 23. Full candidate details will be published on the Echo website.