‘Fat-shaming taught me to brush aside abuse’

JUNGLE campmate Charlene White has revealed she felt “disgusting” about her body after a TV viewer sent her a blunt message over her weight.

The ITV News presenter and Loose Women anchor, 42, said the ordeal happened 15 years ago, a year after she began working at the channel.

But Charlene is now “comfortable in my skin”, regardless of her appearance.

She said: “I was working overnight shifts and an email came through at 10pm with ‘your weight’ in the subject line.

“It said, ‘You can’t fail to notice that you’re bigger than other news presenters. It’s something that you need to deal with.

It’s unacceptable that you are the size you are.’ I was so upset and it made me compare myself to other people, which of course is very unhealthy. But I couldn’t help but look at myself and think, ‘I’m disgusting’.

“With age and confidence, I’ve learned to tolerate communication such as that.

“I’m good at my job, irrespective of what I look like. Comments about my weight now don’t bother me.” Charlene, right, who has a son Alfie, five, and daughter Florence, three, with her TV executive partner Andy, resumed weight training in the summer and loves embarking on “fitness challenges” to get stronger. She told Top Sante magazine: “My weight has fluctuated since I was in my late teens, so training is not about me losing weight.

“It’s about me feeling strong, and I definitely now feel stronger.

“I love squatting a particular weight, then the following week trying to smash that barrier. As I lift heavier and heavier, I realise I’m getting stronger. My brain works very well in that way.”

Charlene, who arrived in Brisbane on Thursday, admitted life in the I’m A Celebrity jungle would contain daunting challenges.

She said: “I think, if I was ever to do a show such as I’m A Celebrity, the issues will mainly be the outdoors.

“I don’t do bugs, I don’t do spiders, I don’t do any of those things. So why would I sign up?!

“There are several facets to me so perhaps I would surprise people. Maybe you will see a different side.”