I'm A Celebrity star Leomie Anderson has revealed she is entering the jungle in memory of her father, who died of cancer on Christmas Day.
The Victoria's Secret model, 33, said her dad and uncle, who have both passed away, were huge fans of the ITV show and she wanted to make them proud by taking part. She also hopes to use her time in camp to raise awareness of the disease, as she believes her father's reluctance to visit doctors contributed to his illness being diagnosed too late.
Doing It in Their Memory
Leomie, whose father died in 2022, said: "This show was one of my dad's and uncle's favorite shows to watch. So when the opportunity arose, I was like, okay, let me try and do it this year. Neither of them are here anymore. So it's emotional, but I'm very very proud that I've been able to do it this year, and do it in their memory."
The London-born model said her father had always been supportive of her career but knew little about the fashion industry, despite her success on some of the world's biggest catwalks. However, I'm A Celebrity was one programme he knew inside out.
She explained: "He didn't know the designers, he didn't know the magazines, but this show, he knew it through and through. So I know he'd be super proud of me." Leomie said her father's favourite words of encouragement were: "Go on, darling, smash it."
Raising Awareness of Cancer
Speaking about his illness, she said: "I really want people to speak to their parents and really remind them to go and get checked up if they have any sort of signs of anything, a cough, a flu, or whatever, just to go to the doctors and get it checked. Because my dad was the type who didn't really want to go to the doctors and stuff like that, and I feel like that was one of the reasons why his cancer was discovered so late."
Leomie said she hopes to speak about his death with her fellow campmates, despite finding the subject painful. She added: "It's something that even though it's very emotional for me to talk about, I hope that I do get the opportunity to speak about it because I know it will resonate with a lot of people."
A Difficult Journey
The model also revealed she had spent nearly two years caring for family members while her father underwent cancer treatment. She said: "It was meant to be like two weeks of my life, and it ended up being nearly two years, and it was just something that I wasn't really expecting."
Leomie added: "I feel like a lot of people don't realize and they just look at someone in the public eye and smiling in front of the cameras that they can really be going through a lot in their personal lives."
She hopes the jungle will allow viewers to see a different side of her, adding: "I'm really excited to be able to not have a mask in the jungle and be able to speak freely and not think too much about upholding this image of myself that everybody is used to seeing."
She is also determined to enjoy herself, admitting she has packed plenty of bikinis for the famous jungle waterfall. She joked: "Oh, 100%. I've packed many a bikini for that waterfall, and we're going to be best friends."
