King of the Jungle gets ready to jump out of aeroplane
Comic and daughter take the plunge for charity
He has run the London Marathon, climbed to the top of the O2 Arena, and been crowned I’m A Celebrity’s King of the Jungle, but one thing Joe Pasquale is yet to do is jump out of a plane.
All that changes this October when the comedian takes on the challenge at Headcorn Aerodrome to raise awareness and money for Diabetes UK.
It is a charity close to Joe’s heart and one he’s already shown his support for in his role as a patron during the last decade.
“My daughter Tina has type 1 diabetes, which is genetic, so she’s totally insulin dependent,” said Joe, who lives in Higham.
“There are too many people walking about nowadays who don’t even know that they are diabetic, so people need to go and get themselves checked.
“It’s also one of the biggest expenses on the NHS. We are becoming a nation of diabetics and I am just trying to raise money and raise awareness of that.”
While type 1 diabetes is genetic, type 2 diabetes tends to develop later and is related to lifestyle choices, such as a poor diet and a lack of exercise.
The World Health Organization estimates more than 382m people worldwide have diabetes, with 4.05m in the UK.
Diabetes UK offers care and support as well as advice on how to prevent getting the disease, fundraising and research.
Joe said: “They approached me and asked if I would like to be a patron, so I did the London Marathon a few years ago and climbed up the O2 for them as well. This time I wanted to do something that most people wouldn’t normally do.
“My daughter is doing it as well and she’s scared of heights, so she’s petrified. I do have a pilot’s licence but I’m more used to staying in the cockpit. I think we just rock up on the day, strap ourselves to another man and jump out of a plane.”
Promising to be even more terrifying than his 17 appearances on Loose Women, Joe and Tina’s 14,000ft sky dive takes place on Thursday, October 13.
They are hoping to raise £1,000 for Diabetes UK and you can donate at justgiving.com/joepasquale1.