Nadia gets ready for her jungle shower
NADIA FORDE didn’t warn her good friend Rory McIlroy about her plans to take part in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! – even though, if the show’s producers get their way, their relationship is likely to be a major focus of her time in the jungle. The show, which has an audience of more than 11 million, starts tonight. It’s a massive opportunity for the young singer and model to become an international celebrity.
But in her first interview ahead of her debut on the reality show, she revealed she hadn’t alerted the golfer of her plans.
Speaking from the Palazzo Versace, the Australian hotel where she has spent the past week, Nadia said: ‘You’ll have to ask him because I don’t actually know if he knows I’m going into the jungle. We are friends but you’ll have to ring him to find out,’ she said.
Asked did she plan to call the golfer to alert him to the fact that their ‘close friendship’ might hit the headlines again, Nadia cheekily suggested that I do it: ‘To be honest, I didn’t tell many people at all because it’s in the contract to not tell many people. Do me a favour! Can you can ring him?’
At least Nadia vowed that Rory would not be a topic of conversation around the jungle campfire, insisting that she was just friends with the world’s No. 1 golfer.
‘We are friends. We’ve always been friends. I think it was a situation where people jumped to the conclusion of something more. He’s a good friend of mine – I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a great guy,’ she said.
The half-Italian model will certainly be showing off her killer curves to get viewers to vote for her. And bringing out her patriotic side, she has packed a green bikini for her ‘shower moments’.
Nadia sang the National Anthem in the Aviva Stadium earlier this year in a tight green dress, and she is hoping her green bikini will bring her the luck of the Irish.
‘I love the bikinis I’m taking into the jungle. I was rushing around buying them last week. They are cool. There’s a green one in there for Ireland but the other one is lovely as well.
‘We are told a particular number of bikinis to take with us into the jungle. We’re not allowed to bring too many bikinis in there; you can’t over-pack. I have a couple of bikinis but I didn’t want to break the rules and smuggle any more in there [like beauty queen Amy Willerton did last year].
‘You get in trouble if you take too much in there, so I don’t want to risk losing dinner or getting something taken away from camp by doing that. I’ve been pretty strict with the rules that the producers have given me.’
Although she couldn’t be accused of being shy, Nadia said she too had her hang-ups when it came to body issues.
‘How confident do I feel in a bikini? I’m just like any girl. There are bits of my body that I’m not happy with, and there are bits that I am happy with – but it’s the same for everyone. I think everybody has their own insecurities, which can be a little bit daunting to think about. Hopefully, I won’t disappoint with the bikini selection. There was so much pressure to choose the right two, so I hope they work out.’
But she said she would relish her shower moments – if only to get a break from creepy crawlies.
‘I’m looking forward to taking showers. The jungle shower is part of the whole experience and it’s going to be pretty cool to be under a waterfall. There’s the pool area there and it’s the tropics, so it’s going to be amazing. Dr Bob told me that the jungle shower was the one area of the camp where there were no animals and no creepy crawlies, so I probably will spend a lot of my time in there.’
As the first Irish woman to be invited onto the ITV show, Nadia said she was hoping for a once-in-a-lifetime experience – despite Alan Carr’s dismissal of this year’s line-up as less recognisable than some of the cockroaches.
Apart from Nadia there are such luminaries as ex-footballer Jimmy Bullard, ’Allo, ’Allo! star Vicki Michelle and Corrie’s Craig Charles.
‘At some times in the day, I’m really excited. At other points in the day, I’m overthinking. I start wondering about the trials or I start to think about the reality of what we need to do to get into the jungle. It’s scary. But then I get really excited at the thought of meeting everyone and settling into the camp. It’s definitely a bit of both; it just depends on the time of day.’
Since launching her singing career, Nadia has had her own reality show, Nadia Goes To Hollywood, and she is currently filming a second series. She said she signed up for I’m A Celebrity for the challenge.
‘Out of all the reality shows, this one is such a challenge. When are you going to get the chance to live in a rainforest and camp in there? The experience that you get as a cast member of this show is so unusual; it’s such a cool experience to go through. It’s also a little weird because we’re cut off from the outside world. We don’t have our phones, we don’t really know each other and we’re put into this crazy environment. Plus, we don’t actually get to see the show until we get back. For us, it’s literally a first-hand experience. I like that element to it. We’re hidden away in the jungle but everybody gets to see us – and we don’t.’
The series kicks off tonight on UTV and TV3 and is the most watched show on television. Nadia is hoping the nation will get behind her and keep her in the jungle.
‘I haven’t been home in a couple of
‘Have a good laugh at my expense as I’m eating kangaroo private parts’
months but I’m really missing home. I was saying that this morning,’ she said. ‘I’ve been away for a good while and I’m really missing home. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like after I’ve been in the jungle for a few weeks. I hope Ireland enjoys the show. To anyone watching the show at home, please have a good laugh at my expense as I’m eating kangaroo private parts. And please get behind me – I need your support.’
She said she was apprehensive of the diet and the bushtucker trials that await her in the rainforest.
‘I’m worried about the jungle diet because I love food. I’m going to miss having a cup of tea. I’m the kind of girl who loves a cup of tea. I’m going to miss the little things like that but, hopefully, we’ll be winning stars and eating properly.
‘I’ll be really disappointed if I do a trial and come away with only a couple of stars or no stars at all. If I put myself through a challenge and come away with nothing, it’s going to be horrible.
‘The jungle is all about going back to basics. It’s going to be like living 100 years ago and I’m looking forward to experiencing that, though I’m not good with kangaroo private parts. ‘Look, it is going to be good. The trials are made to be gory and horrible and they’re as challenging as ever this year. I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve had to eat things like that before – but I’m going to have to be strong about it to get through it. I’ll have to do whatever I can for the rest of the camp. We’ve got to do it for the