#angrygingexoc

Posted on wattpad here xx

Disclaimer and characters can be found here

Chapter One: “I suspect your single era will be coming to an end soon Ginge…”

———————————————-

The jungle humidity clung to everything; thick, heavy and relentless. It clung to Morgan's skin like a damp flannel he couldn't shake off, one that stank of woodsmoke and rot.

Back in Salford the air was crisp, tasting of exhaust fumes and chippy grease, he'd take that over this any day.

It was the fourth night in camp, and the novelty had worn off, replaced with a bone deep grumpiness.

Morgan shifted his weight for the third time in just the past few minutes, the log he perched on seemed personally offended by his thighs, the bark digging in at all the worst angles as he tried (and failed) to enjoy his mushy beans and rice.

He sighed after yet another disgusting watery mouthful, thinking about everything he missed back home; hot showers, deliveroo, kebabs, FIFA with the lads, deliveroo again, and his dog Spike, the grumpy old shih tzu, though Spike was probably not missing him, he was probably snoring on his sister's sofa right now, completely oblivious to the fact Morgan was currently being eaten alive by midges for the nation's entertainment.

Across the campfire, Ruby Wax was mid-story, her hands waving animatedly as she spoke to Martin Kemp who was wheezing into his beans.

"I'm telling you, Martin... I saw the sign at Vienna airport and thought 'oh how peculiar, these Australian's sure are funny, this must be a prank since it's April"

Morgan let out a snort, nearly losing the mouthful of beans he was chewing.

"Rubes, you're telling me you sat on a two hour flight to Austria and you just assumed the pilot was taking a cheeky shortcut across the globe?"

"Well, I did wonder why we didn't seem to be crossing an ocean" she replied, completely serious. "I just assumed it was a very fast flight, like the Concorde I used to take to New York back in the day."

Morgan shook his head and shot back "Rubes, even if Concorde still existed, I reckon it'd take a bit longer than two hours for it to reach Sydney"

"Well Ginge, darling" she said airly, "I am but a dotty old lady. Skyscanner is a confusing website, how does it know all the flights? I'm far too old for such confusing things"

"Yet here you are, somehow in the jungle" he joked with a tired grin, the campbed that creaked with every roll catching up to him with every sentence.

Ruby smirked. "Well, Ginge, I couldn't let a handsome lad like yourself suffer alone in here."

The camp erupted into a round of tired chuckles.

Morgan shook his head, leaning back.

"Ruby, If I were a 'handsome lad' I wouldn't be in the jungle eating this mush, I'd be on a sofa back home with a fit bird I'd be calling my missus."

Ruby raised an eyebrow at that, a knowing smile creeping onto her face, leaning forward with the sparkle in her eyes that screamed trouble.

"Oh I don't know about that" she said, tilting her head "you don't strike me as the lovey-dovey type."

Morgan scoffed, straightening slightly "excuse me, what's that supposed to mean?"

Ruby smirked and waved a hand vaguely in his direction, "I reckon you're one of those lads who thinks taking a girl to Spoons is the height of sophistication."

Morgan looked genuinely affronted, mouth hanging open slightly as he processed what she'd said

"Oi! I'm actually offended that you'd think that Rubes, I'll have you know I am very romantic, I just don't look it."

"Go on then" she challenged, grinning with a glint in her eye "convince me, what's a proper date then?"

He froze, mid-chew, thinking of how he can try and sound suave while eating beans from a mug, knowing full well half the nation's ladies are watching him. However, before he could muster up his answer, a familiar bellowing laugh rang out from the log next to Ruby, Lisa Riley was watching this all with a grin.

"Let me guess" she interjected, her accent thick and warm, like that one fun aunt who slips you a tenner during a hug "a proper date for a lad like you, is a cheeky nandos? Medium spice, extra chips and the garlic bread don't forget!"

Morgan and Aitch let out a simultaneous offended scoff  "Nah Nah, don't do us like that."

"It's all I hear about!" Lisa exclaimed "My daughter, Layla, she's always on at me about it, she says if one more man tries to take her on a Nando's date, she's going to move to a convent. She calls it 'NPC behaviour' whatever that means."

Aitch suddenly sat up straight and pointed at Lisa

"Lis.. not to be mean to your daughter, but if she doesn't rate nandos then there's summit wrong with her up there" and taps his forehead.

Lisa let out a shocked laugh

"Nah there's nothing wrong with my Layla's noggin, she's a bright one, she's a trainee solicitor, paid to be sharp yeah, spends her days terrorising people in suits up at the ITV office in Manchester. I'm sure she does rate nandos once in a while, just not every hinge date, gets a bit repetitive, you boys need to up your game."

Morgan shook his head in mock sadness, "Your Layla sounds dead cheeky, Lis, calling us lads NPCs? Thats cold, right Aitch, proper cold"

Aitch nodded solemnly "nah shes actual mad for that, NPC, I'm a main character I am, dunno about ginge here tho"

Morgan gasped in shock "Oi! I am not an NPC"

Aitch shook his head holding back a laugh

"nah, see that there mate, thats summit a NPC would be programmed to say... look at your haircut, that is the manchester hive mind trim"

"Slander, Lies, you can't comment on my trim mate, you've got no hair" Morgan shot back, which made Aitch gasp and stand to his feet

"nah, nah, that's cold Burtwistle, that's proper cold, I may have no hair, but I've still got more birds than you ever will." Aitch smirked before sitting back down and going back to chewing his beans, looking properly smug with himself for that line.

The camp laughed, while Morgan sat there frozen, letting out a little scoff and turning back to his beans muttering "whatever, least I can reach the top shelf at Tescos."

To this aitch lets out a shocked cackle and grins "y'know what Ginge, fair play."

The topic ebbed out, with Ruby returning to her story about what happened next at the airport. However, Morgan's thoughts remained, thinking about Lisa's words

'Do girls really not rate Nando's? Is that why I'm single?, because I take girls to Nando's...'

'Nah, nah that can't be the reason surely, if it's nandos, then all my mates should be single too, they always take their girls there, nah, the birds just don't rate gingers, yeah.. That's totally the reason behind my single streak, i'm sure my soulmate will love Nando's'

As he was thinking about it, he felt yet another midge crawl under his shirt, Morgan sighed, pulling down the collar of his shirt to flick it away, and to itch the bitemarks that already covered his chest.

As he scratched at his irritated skin, Morgan barely noticed that Lisa had gone quiet

Her gaze fixed on something… something just below his collar as if it was the most fascinating thing she'd seen all day.

"Oi, Ginge, is that a tattoo or a soulmark?" she asked curiously.

Morgan sighed, "it's a soulmark, do you actually think i'd willingly get a pink tulip and a football tatted on me?"

He was sick of this question, the lads always took the piss out of him for having a tulip as a soul-mark, being known as Fifi flower-tot all of high school really made the novelty wear off fast.

She lets out a small laugh "you never know, drunk tattoo's exist." Her eyes were still locked in on his collarbone. Morgan shifted uncomfortably from her gaze.

"Why you staring Lis?"

Lisa didn't answer, she was dead still, her mug of beans trembling in her hands, she knew that soulmark.

She'd seen it before, on a newborn's shoulder in a hospital room twenty-two years ago.

On a toddler tearing through the Emmerdale set.

On her daughter.

The exact same pale pink tulip with the football next to it, the same side of her collar and all.

A slow, terrifying grin spread across Lisa's face, as she looked up from his collar and towards his face.

"Actually, Ginge..." her voice carried a sing-song lilt as she smiled "I suspect your single era will be coming to an end soon. Don't you worry my dear."

Morgan froze, his spoon falling to the jungle floor with a clatter "Nah, Lisa, what the fuck, whats that supposed to mean?!?"

Lisa's grin widened, her eyes sparkling with something unknown to Morgan

"Oh you'll find out soon enough Ginge, patience is a virtue, just know you're a lucky lad."

Morgan stood up, his voice turning into an indignant whine "nahhhh you can't just drop summit like that and expect me to be normal Lis, tell me please, I swear is this a prank?, nah, you're taking the piss.. Aren't you?"

Lisa just shook her head, "I'm not saying any more than that, we are on national TV, it wouldn't be fair on the other person, the Media would be hunting her down the minute I give even the slightest detail. I've been in the industry long enough to know the media are a bunch of vultures."

Morgan stood there, his mouth opening and closing, trying to process what Lisa is trying to imply "w-what? Nah, what??? Nah, Lisa, you know my soulmate????"

She just nodded, suddenly serious, her previous grin gone

"Look, once we are both out of the jungle I'll tell you about her, until then that's all you get."

Morgan just nodded, but his stomach dropped like he'd swallowed a rock.

His life had just shifted, and it wasn't just his life, his soulmates as well.

Disclaimer and characters can be found here

Posted on wattpad here xx

Chapter one, Chapter two

spotify playlist

(for maximum effect, click on each image to be able to read it all, Tumblr crops some of it for some reason but shows the full image if you click xx)

Interlude: “The Girl Behind the Mark..."

Disclaimer and characters can be found here

Posted on wattpad here xx

Chapter one, Chapter three.

See the bottom of the chapter for some author's notes

Playlist for the fic <3

Chapter Two: “Layla... Why is your soulmate the same guy who screams about chips on Twitch?”

Layla Riley-Moore was having a normal day, well as normal as a girl could have while watching her mum sob her way through eating kangaroo balls on national television. 

Aside from that, it was normal. 

She woke up, took her dog, Max the yappy dachshund, out for his morning walk, where, to no surprise, he barked at absolutely everything.

She rode the tram into work, greeting her coworkers and nodding along to their usual complaints about nightmare children and the ongoing war that was parking at Tesco. 

Lunch was her usual boring salad box from ITV MediaCity canteen, eaten while gossiping with her favourite coworker, Rachel from HR, another grad scheme girl who made the job bearable.

Followed by an afternoon that dragged on in a blur of contracts, emails and staring at a screen far too long.

After work, she went straight home, took Max for a quick jog, the crisp December air biting at her skin, before heading out to Rochdale to see her dad, Adam Moore and stepmum, Chloe.

Now, she was curled up on the sofa between them, Max snoring on her lap while she absentmindedly rubbed at his belly, her stepbrother Callum slouched nearby, more interested in TikTok and snapping his roster than the TV, much to Chloe’s disapproval.

On the screen, Lisa Riley – Layla's mum, the Emmerdale actress and turned jungle survivor, was perched on a log, sighing into her mug of beans and rice while recovering mentally from her bushtucker trial, occasionally pulling insects out of her hair.

Layla felt for her mum, she really did. 

But at the same time… the woman did choose to do it.

She’d known exactly what she was signing up for, and was being paid good money to do it, more than what Layla made in a year, that's for sure.

Layla still thought her mum was absolutely mad for agreeing to do it in the first place. The idea of her bubbly, dramatic mother voluntarily eating insects and animal parts was equal parts horrifying and, admittedly, a bit funny.

They were at a rather slow part of the episode where everyone in the camp looked mildly miserable, listening to Ruby Wax ramble about her accidentally getting a flight to Austria instead of Australia.

Layla took the lull in the episode as her chance to check her phone, flicking through the Instagram reels Callum sent her earlier, chuckling at a couple of them before turning her attention back to the TV. 

That’s when she noticed him.

A tall ginger lad, with sticky-out ears, Angry Ginge as he was apparently called, was currently deep in debate with her mum and the rapper Aitch about whether Nandos counted as a proper date. 

Layla grinned as her mum, on Layla's behalf, was firmly disagreeing with the lads, telling them that Nando's is not good enough. 

She snorted slightly, already imagining the headlines “Lisa Riley’s daughter slams northern dating culture: the Nando’s epidemic exposed” 

The lad, Ginge, looked rough; it had only been four days in camp, but he’d already lost weight, his face sharper and his frame leaner from the jungle diet. 

Still, he held his own in the banter. 

And, for some reason she couldn’t quite place, Layla found herself rooting for him. 

As the Nando’s debate fizzled out and Ruby went back to her airport story, Layla reached for the popcorn bowl wedged between her dad and Chloe. 

“Oi da, can you and Chlo stop hogging the popcorn? Your kids want some, too.” 

“Nah, sorry kidda, popcorn's all gone” 

“Lies, I can literally see it in the bowl, pass it here”

Her dad chuckled. “Alright, calm down, it's just popcorn, Lay, forgot how hangry you can get”  

He passed the bowl over, but before Layla could grab any, Callum's hand swooped in, stealing a fistful and shoving it straight into his mouth.

“Oi, Cal, you pig, I wanted that!” 

“Too slow”, Callum mumbled through a mouthful of crumbs, scattering onto the sofa.

“Ew, can you not speak with your mouthful? I know Chlo raised you better than that, you animal.” 

Callum simply smirked and proceeded to flick a piece at Layla's face.

“Callum, behave”, Chloe cut in “We are trying to watch Layla’s mum, stop it” 

Callum rolled his eyes but relented, shoving the bowl back towards Layla.  

“Fine, have it.”

She muttered a quick thanks, finally grabbing a handful before turning her attention back to the TV, where the Camera had panned to Ginge, who was scratching at his collarbone, clearly covered in midge bites.

At that moment, Layla found herself frozen. 

Her hand hovered mid-air, popcorn slipping from her fingers.

Something was on Ginge’s collarbone. 

Something Layla was really hoping she was imagining. 

Something she knew.

Layla's pulse spiked. Slowly, she sat up straighter, her eyes locking onto the screen.

On the TV, it seemed her mum had also noticed, because Lisa Riley had gone still too, staring at the same spot like she’d seen a ghost.

And there it was…

On Angry Ginge’s collarbone sat a pale pink tulip beside a football.

 The exact same mark as hers.

Layla’s throat tightened, the room suddenly too small, too loud, just too much.

She could hear the conversation on the TV, but it felt distant, like she was underwater.

“Oi, Ginge, is that a tattoo or a soulmark?”

“It’s a soulmark, do you actually think I’d willingly get a pink tulip and a football tatted on me?” 

Layla's heart slammed against her ribs.

Layla could feel all three pairs of eyes on her, with even Callum turning his attention away from his phone for once.

“Lay…you alright?”  Chloe asked, concern in her eyes, because she, like everyone in that room, knew all too well who had the matching mark to the ginger man on the TV. 

Layla couldn’t answer; she was frozen, her heartbeat thumping in her ears, replaying the words over and over.

“It’s a soulmark…” “Do you actually think I’d willingly get a pink tulip tatted…” 

Just as Layla was about to speak, her mum's voice rang out on the TV.

“Actually ginge…I suspect your single era will be coming to an end soon. Don’t you worry, my dear.”

Layla felt her stomach churn. 

‘No. No, no no no… this cannot be happening’ 

‘Is she actually?’ 

‘Is my mum actually about to out my soulmate on national TV?’

“What the fuck”, " Layla whispered under her breath.

On the TV, Ginge was already spiralling, pacing, confused, demanding answers from Lisa, asking her if she was taking the piss.

God, Layla wished it were a prank.

Luckily for Layla, her mother decided to use her senses and say something oddly serious for once. 

Layla heard only parts of it, her mind too busy spiralling.

“I’m not saying any more than that… on national TV, it wouldn’t be fair… the Media would be hunting her down the minute I give even the slightest detail… the media are a bunch of vultures.” 

Layla exhaled shakily, her chest tight. 

‘Thank god’

Ginge, her soulmate, was about to protest, muttering, his face scrunched up in shock, confusion, and a sense of something Layla couldn’t identify.

“Look”, her mum continued, “once we are both out of the jungle, I’ll tell you about her; until then, that's all you get.” 

At that moment, Layla wanted the ground to swallow her whole. 

Her dad reached for the remote and paused the TV, dragging a hand down his face like he physically couldn’t process what he’d just seen. 

No one spoke; they all sat there in stunned silence. 

Until Callum broke it.

“Layla..”

He turned to her, his eyes wide.

“Why is your soulmate the same guy who screams about chips on Twitch?”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Authors Notes

Hi everyone!

Thank you so much for all the likes and follows on part one! I'm so happy you are all liking it :)

I probably won't post part three for a while, I'm swamped with a massive competition that I'm preparing for that's in the next two weeks.

Disclaimer & Characters

Morgan Burtwistle x OC, AngryGinge x OC, Soulmate AU!, Lisa Riley daughter OC, social media au.

“When Morgan Burtwistle enters the jungle for the 2025 season of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, he expects bugs, bad food, and embarrassment, and to hopefully be crowned king.

What he doesn't expect is for Lisa Riley to recognise his soul-mark, and realise it matches her daughter's.

Layla Riley-Moore has spent her entire life avoiding the spotlight. But when the nation pieces together the clues, her identity is dragged into the public eye overnight, and suddenly, her life isn't hers anymore.

Now, with her privacy shattered, a career to protect, and a soulmate she's never chosen, Layla is forced to navigate a connection that's already changed everything.”

———————————————————————————

Posted on Wattpad as well as here

Disclaimer

This is my first ever tumblr post, sorry if the formatting is weird, I dunno how to do this lmao.

This fic does not follow the exact occurrences of the 2025 season of ITV's I'm a Celebrity, because I live abroad and cannot access the full season on streaming platforms, but I've seen lots of snippets of it on TikTok and YouTube, and I was inspired by it (and edits of Angry Ginge). I have not been a fan of Ginge for long, but I've seen clips of him on TikTok for years and find him funny, so if my characterisation of him is incorrect, then that's why.

Also, I changed some of the backgrounds of characters that obviously are fictional, and do not reflect any of the real life people and their personalities at all. This is just for the story I simply used their faces and names. I do not intend to disrespect any of the people behind the characters in this story.

I'm from the UK, but I've never been to Manchester or its surrounding area, so if anything is culturally inaccurate I am sorry.

Lastly, I am dyslexic, while I've tried to edit my work to make it good, there are probably still spelling and grammar mistakes, so please keep that in mind.

I will edit this story and add more to it, this is just the start of it, I will be adding a bit more to the character section of the story, I just haven't added them yet.

I hope you all enjoy!

————————————————————————————

Characters

Layla Riley-Moore

Face claim: Mikey Madison

Age: 22

Parents: Lisa Riley & Adam Moore

Occupation: Trainee Solicitor at ITV Mediacity.

Lives: Manchester, England

From: Rochdale, Greater Manchester

Soulmate: Morgan Burtwistle

Favourite Singers: Fontaines DC, Lily Allen, Lana Del Rey, Amy Winehouse, Duran Duran

———————————————————————————

Morgan Burtwistle "Angry Ginge"

Face claim: himself

Age: 24

Occupation: Twitch Streamer, YouTuber, Reality TV contestant.

Lives: Manchester, England

From: Salford, Manchester

Soulmate: Layla Riley-Moore

Favourite Singers: Adele, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Calvin Harris, Oasis

———————————————————————————

Lisa Riley

Face claim: herself

Age: 49

From: Greater Manchester

Occupation: Soap actress, reality TV, including Strictly Come Dancing, I'm a Celebrity, etc.

Soulmate: Al Benković

Favourite Singers: Elton John, David Bowie, Boney M, The Beatles.

———————————————————————————

Adam Moore

Face claim: Euan McGregor

Age: 51

Occupation: Co-CEO of a medium sized contracting firm "Moore & Moore" with his brother.

From: Rochdale

Lives: Rochdale

Soulmate: unknown

Partner: Chloe Smith

Favourite Singers: The Smiths, Oasis, The Fratellis, The Stone Roses

———————————————————————————

Chloe Smith

Face claim: Ruth Gemmell

Age : 47

Occupation: Maths teacher at a high school in Rochdale

Soulmate: unknown

Partner: Adam Moore

Child: Callum Smith

Favourite Singers: The Cure, Spice Girls, Adele, Kate Bush

———————————————————————————

Callum Smith

Face claim: Owen Cooper

Age: 16

Occupation: high school student

Parents: Chloe Smith & Robert Maskery

Soulmate: unknown

Siblings: Layla Riley-Moore (step sibling)

Favorite singers: Esdeekid, Oasis, Dave, Central Cee & Aitch