I'm A Celebrity campmate Charlene White has told how a viewer's email saying her size was "unacceptable" has helped her to brush off any negative comments about her weight.
The ITV News presenter and Loose Women anchor said she was left "so upset" when she received a blunt viewer message just a year after she started on the channel which left her feeling "disgusting" about her body. She added that the email said she failed to notice that she was bigger than other news presenters and it was something she needed to deal with.
But 15 years on the 42-year-old told how she has learned to "tolerate" such abuse and knows she is "good at her job" regardless of her appearance, the Mirror reports.
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She said: "I'm comfortable in my skin. A year into starting at ITV, 15 years ago, I was working overnight shifts and an email came through at 10pm with 'your weight' in the subject line.
"The email said, 'You can't fail to notice that you're bigger than other news presenters. It's something that you need to deal with. It's unacceptable that you are the size you are.'
"I was so upset and it made me compare myself to other people, which, of course, is very unhealthy, but I couldn't help but look at myself and think, 'I'm disgusting.'
"With age and confidence, I've learned to tolerate communication such as that. I'm good at my job, irrespective of what I look like. Comments about my weight now don't bother me."
Charlene - who has son Alfie, five, and daughter Florence, three, with her TV executive partner Andy - restarted weight training over the summer, and admits she loves embarking on "fitness challenges" to get stronger. Life in camp should also contain similar challenges.
Speaking to Top Sante magazine, she added: "My weight has fluctuated since I was in my late teens, so training is not about me losing weight.
"It's about me feeling strong, and I definitely now feel stronger.
"I love fitness and challenges. I love squatting a particular weight, then the following week trying to smash that barrier.
"As I lift heavier and heavier, I realise I'm getting stronger. My brain works very well in that way."
Charlene arrived at Brisbane on Thursday and admitted the show would be a challenge.
She said: "I think if I was ever to do a show such as I'm A Celebrity the issues will mainly be the outdoors, I don't do bugs, I don't do spiders, I don't do any of those things. So why would I sign up?!
"There are several facets to me so perhaps I would surprise people. Who knows? Maybe you will see a different side."
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