Craig Charles is making a return to the I'm A Celebrity jungle for the All Stars series, more than a decade after his devastating exit. The actor was forced to leave the 2014 series after just four days when he received the tragic news that his brother Dean had died from a heart attack.
Speaking about the loss, Charles revealed to The Big Issue that he had been unable to reconcile with his brother before entering the jungle. 'He tried to get hold of me just before I went into the jungle. We'd not spoken for a few years, there was a family falling out. And I just thought, 'You know what, I'll leave it, go and do the jungle thing and I'll come out and we'll all be together for Christmas',' he said. 'And he died while I was over there.'
Days before the All Stars series airs, Charles suffered another family tragedy with the death of his mother-in-law, Anna Fleming. He shared the news on Instagram, describing her as 'one of the most significant women in my entire life'.
Charles is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in Red Dwarf and Lloyd Mullaney in Coronation Street. He also presented Robot Wars and narrated Takeshi's Castle. He left Coronation Street in 2005 after realising, following his brother's death, that he wanted 'new adventures'.
The actor has faced his own health battles, revealing in 2023 that he had stents fitted after suffering a heart attack. He told the Liverpool Echo that he suffers from the same genetic heart condition that killed his brother, and that he now has 'a new lease of life'.
I'm A Celebrity All Stars launches tonight at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX, airing every weeknight for three weeks until the final on April 24.
