Emmerdale actress Lisa Riley has shared the heartbreaking moment she felt completely isolated during her time on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, telling how she turned to her late mother for strength.
A Private Moment of Despair
In her first full interview since leaving the show, the usually effervescent 49-year-old confessed to reaching a point where she felt "alone" and "vulnerable". The low came after a particularly gruelling Bushtucker Trial, the fish gut challenge, which she described as the "toughest time" she faced in camp.
"I sat there on my own, and I had a little word with my mum," Riley admitted. She was incredibly close to her mother Cath, who died from cancer in 2012 at the age of 57. "I spoke to all my angels up there... but especially her. I was like, 'mum, I need some strength. I need to get through. I'm struggling.'"
The Pressure of Performance
Riley explained that the immense pressure to perform well in trials for the camp took a severe toll. "We were getting hefty numbers. No one got less than six stars," she said. "But then you get back and you don't know what day it is, what time it is, and you just want that reassurance maybe from home."
Her lowest moment physically followed the trial. Having left camp quickly that morning, she had no clean clothes and returned saturated. "I sat there smelling like a wet fish market nine times over and covered in green stuff in the heat," she recalled. "I was sitting on the bottom step of the Telegraph all on my own. I just wanted time out."
Campmates Rally Round
It was fellow contestant Ruby Wax who first noticed her struggle, commenting that "baby's lost her smile." Recognising she needed space, Riley took herself to the farthest part of the creek. Thankfully, her campmates, including Martin Kemp and Jack Maynard, instinctively rallied to support her.
"In the toughest times, I was always the one to make people feel better," Riley said. "But Martin was there, Jack was there for me, Ruby... Those boys, I have been there as a sister figure, a mother figure... but for the boys to be so instinctive that day especially."
Turning the Corner and Jungle Benefits
Riley did turn her experience around, ultimately declaring the show "everything I wanted it to be and so much more." She even revealed a surprising physical benefit, shedding an impressive 20lbs during her stay through portion control and constant activity around the demanding camp terrain.
The star also addressed her now-famous comment about finding presenter Ant McPartlin "juicy," laughing it off as harmless fun. She emphasised her secure, 12-year relationship with fiancé Al, stating, "You can go to Waitrose, you don't have to buy anything."
Reflecting on the show's power to reveal real people behind celebrity façades, Riley concluded: "People look at us in the public eye and think it is all champagne and baubles... I'm fish and chips, and I want to be fish and chips. That's what this show exposes."
