Emmerdale actress Lisa Riley has shared the surprising details of her significant weight loss during her time on ITV's I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! The 49-year-old star, who was eliminated in a double eviction with Jack Osbourne on Friday evening, revealed she shed an impressive 20 pounds – nearly a stone and a half – while in the Australian jungle.
The Real Reasons Behind the Jungle Transformation
Contrary to popular belief, Riley insists it wasn't just the famous meagre diet of rice and beans that led to her slimmer figure. Speaking after her exit, she pointed to strict portion control and the camp's demanding physical routine as the key factors. "It's portion control," she explained. "Everyone says, 'Oh, it's beans and rice.' Yes, it is beans and rice, but it's actually what you consume."
She emphasised the non-stop activity required by the jungle environment. "When you're in there, people don't have an idea of the lifestyle, the geography of the camp. It's the do-ability, the activeness," Riley told The Daily Mail. "Like, when you go up to the Bush Telegraph to talk, it's step after step. When you go to a challenge, you never stop moving. It's endless."
The actress clarified that while hunger was a factor, she never felt she was starving. "By the time you've consumed the beans at night, you've probably burned it off," she added, noting that the constant activity created a significant calorie deficit.
Special Vegetarian Meals and a Farewell to Rice
While her campmates tucked into exotic meats like crocodile and eel, Riley received a different menu due to her vegetarian diet. She was provided with Quorn substitutes, including chicken strips and mince, as well as tempeh and tofu. "I'm so fortunate," she said, though she admitted a newfound culinary lesson. "At the start, when I was cooking, I used to boil it. Now I realise you've got to pan-fry it."
She credited fellow campmate Martin for improving her tofu preparation, making it "scrumptious," compared to her own initial attempts which she called "rubbish." Her vegetarian meal was often padded out with extra rice, leading to one definitive conclusion: "Anyway, do I fancy seeing rice again? No thanks. Rice and I are done."
Life in Camp and a Playful Admiration for Ant
In an exclusive chat with the Mirror, Riley reflected on her overall experience, calling it "everything I wanted it to be and so much more," even enjoying it more than her stint on Strictly Come Dancing. The actress also addressed her now-famous camp admission that she found presenter Ant McPartlin "juicy."
"Any red-blooded woman would say Ant is juicy, and he looks really well," she laughed. "But I’m in a very, very, very happy relationship." She compared her flirtatious nature to window-shopping, saying, "you can go to Waitrose, you don't have to buy anything."
Riley, who is engaged to long-term partner Al after 12 years together, described herself as a secure flirt. "I flirt with everybody. That's who I am... I'm so secure in my relationship I can flirt with everybody, but I know who I go home to every night." She added that Al fully understands her personality, saying, "We know where our bread’s buttered with each other."
Looking glowing after her jungle adventure, Lisa Riley's time in camp proved to be a transformative experience, both physically and personally, leaving her over a stone lighter and with a fresh perspective on life outside the Emmerdale village.
