Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Connie Rusk

Steph McGovern reveals she had to turn down I'm A Celebrity due to secret health problem

Steph McGovern has revealed she was asked by ITV bosses to be part of I'm A Celebrity, but had to turn it down due to a secret health problem.

The television host, 40, says she has been asked multiple times to join the hit show but has had to pass it by because she has Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Steph says the jungle diet - mainly consisting of rice and beans - would wreak havoc on her body, due to the digestive condition which causes symptoms like diarrhoea, painful cramps and bloating.

The Channel 4 star says while she isn't scared of eating the array of food camp brings from winning trials, she is worried how her body would react.

Steph McGovern has revealed she was asked by ITV bosses to be part of I'm A Celebrity, but had to turn it down due to a secret health problem (Channel 4)

"You see, I’m the type of person who gets a small bite and then my whole leg swells up. I’ve also got IBS too so I’d be scared that if I ate something that disagreed with me I’d probably end up [bleep]ing myself on TV.

“It’s not mentally how I’d deal with it, but more physically how my body would work," she told Entertainment Daily.

Steph previously spoke about her battle with IBS, revealing in July she had lost weight and dropped a dress size due to the condition.

This year's finalists Owen Warner, Jill Scott and Matt Hancock (James Gourley/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

She told The Mirror: "I’ve had IBS for as long as I can remember, but I just assumed it was one of those things you either have or you don’t have and there isn’t any cure.

"So for a long time, I just accepted it. I used to get awful cramps and run to the loo.

"Then I did a show for the BBC called Easy Ways To Live Well and I discovered my gut was in the worst third of the population.

Steph says the jungle diet - mainly consisting of rice and beans - would wreak havoc on her body (Channel 4)

"I started to adapt my diet but then I fell pregnant with my little girl and couldn’t do that. So now I’ve started to focus on my gut health again and it’s changed my life. I take a probiotic called Symprove, which helps massively, and I do intermittent fasting midweek – so I only eat between 11am and 7pm. I’ve also introduced more gut-friendly foods.

"Suddenly, I realised I’d lost my bloated belly, which was amazing. People would ask me all the time whether I was pregnant because I had this swollen stomach and now it’s gone.

"So I wasn’t trying to be super thin – I was pretty happy with how I looked – it was only by trying to help my IBS that I’ve lost weight."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.