Kelly Brook, one of the contestants on the new series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, has revealed her real name is Kelly Anne Parsons. The 45-year-old model and TV personality changed her surname to Brook early in her career on the advice of a photographer.
Page 3 photographer Jeany Savage, who took Brook's first pictures when she was 16, suggested the change. Savage said in 2001: "I persuaded her to change her name from Parsons which sounded so awful to Brook." Brook added that she was teased at school: "My real name is Kelly Parsons and they used to call me Smelly Parsnips because it rhymes."
Despite being known worldwide as Kelly Brook, she has never legally changed her name. She explained: "Kelly Brook doesn't actually exist, it's not even a real name, it's never even been on my passport or anything. In my mind, I'm Mrs Parisi, Jeremy's wife."
Ahead of entering the jungle, Brook has urged viewers not to compare her current appearance to her younger self. She told the Mirror: "Obviously, I am not a 20-year-old bikini model anymore. Life changes and your body changes. I just hope people are accepting of me and how I look now." She added: "I feel really confident. I embrace my curves. I ran a marathon this year…so I am proud of that."
The new series of I'm a Celebrity begins tonight on ITV, with Brook joining a line-up including rapper Aitch, pop legend Martin Kemp, and former Lioness Alex Scott.
