In an exclusive photoshoot and interview, Kate Garraway has revealed her children talked her into taking part in ITV's I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!. Days before she flew Down Under for her jungle adventure, Kate, her husband Derek Draper and their two children Darcey, 13, and ten-year-old son Bill spoke about how she came to take part in the hit ITV show.
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"It's all their fault," Kate told HELLO!. "Darcey really got into the last couple of series and kept saying: ‘You should so do this Mum,’ and things like: ‘You should eat that slug from the garden, or jump off of that wall, to practise.’ It’s been a war of attrition."
"Mum was very nervous and quite reluctant, but Bill and I really wanted her to do it," says Darcey. "I think she will be okay sleeping outside with the animals, but she’s more nervous about eating and skydiving." Bill adds: "We’ve been helping Mum get prepared and giving her tips on things like how to build fires. We’re really proud of her."
© Photo: HELLO!Kate Garraway is going into the jungle on I'm A Celebrity
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In the interview, Kate also reveals what fears she will overcome in the jungle. "I’m very nervous of snakes. I think it’s something about the movement. I’m not a huge fan of spiders either. And I don’t like heights much, so it’s all very daunting. I’m really nervous but I’m excited, too."
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And she says she couldn’t wait to meet her famous castmates. "It is an incredible show, and also you get to meet extraordinary people. I’ve never met anyone who said they regretted doing it. I remember interviewing Tony Blackburn when he was the very first winner. And I know Peter Andre quite well now and it changed his life. People say it’s absolutely life-changing and you get so much peace from being out of contact with the world."
© Photo: HELLO!The GMB star's children wanted her to go on the ITV show
The Good Morning Britain presenter recently confessed she hopes her fear of heights, insects and bugs in the Jungle will give the nation a laugh and provide much-needed light relief from the Brexit political wrangles. "I am a news junkie and I can't remember a time when I haven't read a paper or even when I am abroad, watched the news on a TV or your phone," she said in a statement.
"But maybe one of the joys of doing I'm a Celebrity will be not talking about Brexit! Maybe that could be this year's thing and nobody is allowed to talk about Brexit because I have been talking about Brexit since the year before the referendum!" Kate added: "I am terrified of all of the things in the Jungle, especially heights – it is the crazy heights on thin bits suspended on bits of metal or wood. Or if you are in a little box with creepy crawlies or snakes in it!"
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Kate also explained that GMB colleagues must have had a shock when they found out she was taking part especially as she kept it a secret from them beforehand. "I can't trust them to keep a secret,” she said. "But I do think Ben Shepherd is going to be beyond delighted when he finds out as for years he has said ‘OMG I’d love to see you on the show. You are just so hilarious and I think you will be good’. He thinks I will be incredibly useless and I know he will have great pleasure seeing me squirm."
Asked what role she will play around the campfire, Kate revealed she is ‘quite a good cook’. "But I think one of the worst crimes is probably to burn the rice when you are only given a little bit."
To read the full interview with Kate, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! Magazine, out on Monday...
