I'm A Celebrity fans have expressed how "proud" they are of Helen Flanagan as she conquered her fear of heights in her first challenge of the new series. Nine familiar famous faces touched down in South Africa in thrilling scenes that aired tonight, April 24, for the first ever series of I'm A Celebrity... South Africa.
Amongst those to re-enter camp was 2013 campmate Helen Flanagan, who is best known, aside from playing Rosie Webster in Coronation Street, for being squeamish and flaking out of tasks during her first stint in the jungle. Prior to round two, the 32-year-old, who is now the mum of three children, confessed that she had "grown up a lot" since her first time on the ITV show, claiming that her "mindset will be very different this time around".
And it seems that Helen was telling the truth, as she was forced to take on her first challenge of the series tonight alongside Olympic javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread and cricket star Phil Tufnell. The trio were given the terrifying task of being hoisted up 2,000ft in the air to jump across a number of red balls in Total Wipeout-style scenes, before leaping off the final ball in a bid to secure a star in exchange for a meal for camp.
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As Fatima prepared to go first and tether all the balls together to make Phil and Helen's lives easier, Helen - who recently split with Bristol Rovers player Scott Sinclair - confessed that her nerves were getting the best of her. "I don't think I've ever been more nervous in my life," said the soap star, as she struggled to control her breathing.
"I feel sick, I can't think of anything worse but I've got to do it. I was I was watching this at home instead of actually doing this."
As Fatima got to grips with tethering the balls together whilst suspended thousands of feet in the air, Helen confided in Phil: "I'm sorry, Phil. At the moment, I'm the worst campmate."
Phil consoled Helen, before tackling the balls himself. As Helen tried to stop herself from being sick on the sidelines, she watched on as they both failed to obtain the golden star dangling at the end.
Helen's peers admitted that they were unsure whether she would be able to take on the challenge as her turn came around. "I'm going to try and keep myself calm," she said as she worked on her breathing. "I don't like heights, that's the thing, they make me feel sick."
As she paused on top of one of the first balls, Helen called down to Fatima and Paul, who had been shouting words of support at her: "I'm sorry, guys, to keep you waiting, I'm just trying to work my mind through this. I usually close my eyes when I'm scared but that's not going to work this time, is it?"
Helen made it to the final suspended ball, sitting on top of it for a while as she counted to 30 before leaping off it. Unfortunately, despite mustering up the courage to taking the plunge, she was slowly lowered to the ground without the star, as she jumped too far from it.
But whilst Helen, Phil and Fatima entered camp without securing any meals, viewers watching at home were proud of Helen's "personal growth".
The first episode of I'm A Celebrity... South Africa ended on a dramatic cliffhanger after hosts Ant and Dec teased that the initial cohort of nine celebrities would be joined by some surprise latecomers. The final minute of tonight's show saw celebrities on the edge of their seats as a wooden box was delivered to camp, only for Gillian McKeith to emerge from it, much to the displeasure of Happy Mondays star Bez, who clashed with her in the 2010 series.
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