I'm A Celebrity... South Africa will see the return of some of the most memorable campmates from I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! over the years in the brand new setting of South Africa. All of the campmates in this 'all-star' series previously survived the Australian jungle, but South Africa will prove to be a harder proposition which will push them to their limits and test them like never before.
According to show bosses, the challenges are bigger and tougher and the environment harsher and more unforgiving. With no public vote this time, as the ITV show was filmed last year, they will be competing against each other in a battle to become the first ever 'I'm A Celebrity Legend'.
Among the famous faces running the gauntlet will be former royal butler Paul Burrell, who came out as gay following his divorce from Maria Cosgrove his wife of 32 years. In 2017, Paul, who has two sons with his ex-wife, announced he was marrying his partner Graham Cooper. Paul, who was described as Princess Diana’s 'rock', was runner-up in the fourth series of I'm a Celeb in 2004.
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Paul says he's 'a very different person nowadays'. “I loved doing it the first time around and to be asked again is very special,” said Paul, 54. “It’s like coming into the final of the jungle Olympics."
"I had to eat kangaroo testicles in Australia and I am expecting everything to be bigger in South Africa. But it is going to be different because I am a different person now."
He explained: "I was a married guy with two kids and now 19 years on, I am a married man again but this time around, I have a husband. I have many more things to talk about in South Africa. I want to be there for all the dads who are struggling with their sexuality.”
Asked if his previous jungle experience changed him he said: "I went into the jungle as Princess Diana’s former butler and I came out as Paul Burrell. From that point onwards, I realised I had to be me. Not long after that, my marriage disintegrated and I found a different path. This time I want to be there for all the dads out there who are struggling with their sexuality."
Thanks to I’m A Celebrity, Paul says he became famous for being himself rather than Princess Diana’s former butler. “I left camp as Paul Burrell and I realised I had to just be me,” he confided. “I’m A Celebrity made me a household name and I can't remember going to my local supermarket to get the groceries and being mobbed. I was floored next to the frozen peas! Now people are going to get a whole load of me all over again!”
Paul Burrell warns he will get very scared again if he faces another snake trial in South Africa after his terrified facial expressions in Australia had millions of viewers in stitches."
“If I have to do the Hell Holes Trial again, then I know I am going to be really scared,” he said. “It’s such a weird thing to do wondering if whatever is in there is going to bite you or not. I will never get over the fear of the unknown."
I'm a Celebrity ...South Africa starts Monday April 24 at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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