Gillian McKeith's two daughters have opened up about what it was like growing up as their mum was best known as the 'poo lady' on TV.
The Scots TV personality fronted Channel 4's health show You Are What You Eat from 2004-2006 where she would inspect participant's faeces to determine a diagnosis. Gillian, 63, originally from Perth, became a household name when she starred on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2010 which led to trouble for her daughters.
Gillian returned to I'm A Celebrity... South Africa this year but unfortunately was booted out of the series early alongside Shaun Ryder. Following their mother's return to reality TV, Gillian's daughters Skylar and Afton have opened up about the impact their mum's reputation as the 'poo lady' had on their childhood.
Skylar, 28, revealed she was badly bullied at school because of her mum’s passion for studying other people’s poo on You Are What You Eat. She told The Mirror: “I was at secondary school in London and I had people shouting down the hallway, ‘Skylar, I saw your mum sniffing poo on TV last night’.
“They were horrible and made fun of me. I really struggled.
“One day, a boy pushed me against a wall and held a lighter to my face. I was like, ‘I’m done’, and was homeschooled for a bit.”
While her little sister Afton managed to avoid the same torment as she was still in primary school, she now has a separate issue when she tries to date in the UK.
Afton, 23, said: “I get nervous dating men from England as they know my mum from TV. I stopped going out with them because it was too weird.”
Speaking of their Gillian's reputation, Skylar - who joined Gillian in South Africa when the series was recorded last September – said: “Mum sat my sister and I down after and asked if we were OK with what she was doing. We told her she had our full support.
“People have got her wrong – she’s not an irritating woman. They don’t know the real her… she’s misunderstood and a wonderful mum.”
I'm A Celebrity... South Africa continues 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here.
READ NEXT:
- I'm A Celebrity viewers complain just minutes into new 'weird' series set in South Africa
- Helen Flanagan reveals Coronation Street return was derailed by 'awful' illness
- Paul Burrell gushes over 'lovely and sweet' Helen Flanagan after bonding in I'm A Celebrity jungle
- Carol Vorderman and Janice Dickinson in heated row over the monarchy on I'm A Celebrity
- I'm A Celeb South Africa line-up in full as All Stars series kicks off
