‘Brother’s bravery gave me the guts to do The Jump!’

AMY WILLERTON EXCLUSIVE

MODEL Amy Willerton says watching her brother battle with his severe disability made her strong enough to face The Jump.

The brave star, 24, refused to quit TV’s most dangerous show after a horror crash in training – and she credits beloved Ross, 22.

In a heartfelt chat, Amy told the Daily Star Sunday: “I’m really close to my brother.

“I don’t think I’d be so motivated to do anything I’ve done in my life if he wasn’t around.

“He makes me appreciate everything.

“I didn’t have a brother to beat me up and make me tough, which is probably why I’m the weepy, girly one on The Jump.

“But actually he did so much more for me because he made me empathetic, understanding and gave me patience.”

Ross has the genetic condition Mosaic which means he has the mental capacity of a one-year-old and suffers from severe autism. He lives in a care home because he needs round-the-clock care.

Amy can only communicate with him through Makaton, a form of sign language.

She said: “Ross doesn’t have the ability to speak. He’s severely disabled. Unfortunately his condition is not going to change.

“There’s no point thinking ‘what if…?’, you have got to make the best of it.

“He doesn’t actually have a clue there’s anything wrong with him. He’s like a little baby. Probably the most in-depth conversation I’ve ever had with him was about swimming with Winnie The Pooh.

“But he’s the biggest inspiration in my life.”

Amy will compete in The Jump final in front of millions of viewers tonight but Ross will have no idea about her success. She said: “When I’m on TV, Ross will look at the screen and point and start signing my name. “He can’t work out that I’m not really there. He’ll start making the noises he likes me to make. I just feel bad that I can’t do them back because I’m not there. “He wouldn’t understand what The Jump is. But he likes to go and sit in my room and wait for me, so hopefully I can win the show and come back with a big cowbell. “He’d like that. He’d love ringing it – he loves music.” Amy is raising cash for the Milestone Trust charity which funds Ross’ care home. She said: “I know what families go through and the difficulties of caring for a disabled person.”