The Chase star Anne Hegerty has revealed she struggled more than viewers realised during her appearance on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, admitting she spent the first few days wanting to walk away from the ITV reality show.
Hegerty, 67, reflected on her time in the Australian jungle during an appearance on Emma Jo Real-Davis' QVC podcast The Joy of Shopping. She said: "The Jungle was quite an experience. Oh my goodness, I spent the first 48 hours desperately trying to get out of it."
Welfare Team Encouraged Her to Stay
Although Hegerty felt ready to quit, members of the show's welfare team encouraged her to avoid making a quick decision and instead take things one step at a time. She recalled: "They were basically saying, you know, talk to your campmates, talk to Medic Bob, take it day by day, take it hour by hour. And basically it was sort of like, try and stay another night, try and stay another day and another night."
Her feelings began to change after the two camps joined together, with John Barrowman making her feel welcome and Nick Knowles taking time to speak with her and provide support. She said: "I remember waking up the next morning and thinking, 'You know what, I can actually imagine staying till I get voted off.' And I didn't actually try to get out again."
Psychologist Advised Her to Sit Out Trials
Hegerty also revealed she was advised by a psychologist to sit out the Bushtucker Trials for around a week after becoming distressed following the opening challenge. However, she insisted there were other tasks she would have been willing to attempt and admitted she would have happily taken part in the famous Celebrity Cyclone. "I would have been pathetic and I would have landed completely on my face, but I would have been laughing and I would have been giving it a go," she said.
During the podcast, Real-Davis praised Hegerty's performance in one of the show's most memorable eating challenges. She said: "Also, you downed those blended fish eyes in about 12 seconds, Anne." Hegerty replied: "I absolutely did." She dismissed suggestions the drink had been less unpleasant than it appeared, adding: "It left a residue in the bottom of the glass. You could see that was not Diet Coke."
What Viewers Didn't See
But Hegerty admitted viewers were unaware of what happened after the cameras stopped filming. She revealed: "What you didn't see was I threw up half an hour later... I was just being walked back into camp and I suddenly said to the security guys, 'Hang on a second, guys,' and leaned over and threw up."
Hegerty took part in I'm a Celebrity in 2018 and became the fifth celebrity to leave the competition after spending 19 days in camp, following a public vote alongside John Barrowman. After leaving the show, she thanked her fellow contestants for helping her through the experience, saying she "couldn't have done it" without them and admitting she discovered she was "much more of a wimp" than she had previously realised.
