Hero dad’s death inspired me to have a go, says Corrie Jen

CORONATION Street star Jennie Mcalpine says the death of her hero father inspired her to leap out of her comfort zone and sign up for I’m A Celebrity.

Campaigner Tom Mcalpine, OBE, chair of Manchester mental health charity Moodswings, passed away in March, aged 72.

Jennie, 33, known to millions as Fiz Brown, is rarely seen at parties outside of the soap, making her one of the more surprising contestants. She said: “I lost my dad earlier this year and that was a big thing. But I knew he would have told me to do it. He always told me to do stuff, always encouraged me.

“He kept saying, ‘Give it a go to find out if you are good enough’. So that was a big part of it.”

Jennie, 6-1 favourite to win, will miss her son Albert’s third birthday while in the jungle.

She said: “Leaving Albert when I first go into the camp will be my trial... It really will.”