High jinx for Amir
NO INTEREST IN CAREER BOOST, SAYS JENNIE
HEARTBROKEN Corrie star Jennie McAlpine is favourite to be crowned Queen of the jungle – but she insists all she wants after I’m A Celebrity is a cup of tea and her old job back.
While most contestants go into camp hoping for a career boost and job offers, down-to-earth Jennie – known to millions as Fiz Brown – is adamant that’s not what drove her into the jungle.
Jennie, 33, said: “I’m treating it as a holiday definitely, but maybe that’s a mistake. It’s been a bit of a funny old year for me.
“I lost my dad, which was a big thing and he was a big part of my life, and he was such a big encourager for me. So I absolutely knew if he had been around when I’d been asked to do this he’d have said, ‘You’ve got to do it.’
“I’ve got my little boy at home, and he’s nearly three, Albert.
Brave
“As he’s growing up I’m going to tell him to try things, and go for it, and be brave. So I thought his mother better be a bit brave too, otherwise I’ll be a bit of a hypocrite, won’t I?
“I’ve been in Corrie 16 years and it sounds like a long time, but compared to how long the show’s been going, I’m still a relative newcomer. I love it and I’m definitely a Manchester girl, Corrie’s been so good to me, I love it.
“I’m a massive Corrie fan. I can’t imagine my life without Corrie.
“This is just a little break. What will I miss most apart from Albert? A cuppa, a biscuit and Corrie.”
Jennie took the plunge to sign up for the show a few months ago after getting permission from Corrie boss Kate Oates. But she had two major concerns before she headed into camp over the weekend.
“I’ll tell you, my son, it being his third birthday when I am there, and me being a redhead and not very good in heat at all, were the two reasons that I said, ‘I don’t think I can do this.’ when they first asked me. That’s basically what I said.
“Then I thought, ‘You know what? Albert’s just going to have fun’.They’re going to come out and see me in Australia and he’s going to have an amazing adventure.
“Not everybody’s mummy gets to BOXER Amir Khan has his last taste of the high life before going into the camp – by walking the plank 320 feet off the ground.
He and other celebs looked nervy as they completed the show’s terrifying opening challenge yesterday.
Producers made them walk along a girder jutting from the roof of the 34-storey Focus building on the Gold Coast.
They had to hit a button on a pole at the end then turn back.
Coronation Street star Jennie McAlpine, gym fan Jamie Lomas, Vanessa White, Jack Maynard and Georgia Toffolo also walked the walk as Ant and Dec applauded.
Elsewhere, Dennis Wise and Shappi Khorsandi did a skydive and Rebekah Vardy and Stanley Johnson did a version of Hell Hole where they put their hands in with creepy crawlies.
Ant got two birthday cakes from the crew and the Versace hotel, where celebs stay after the show. But he had little time to enjoy his 42nd birthday.
A source said: “Ant was very focused and not too worried about a party. He’s been through a lot this year and is happy to be back with Dec working.”