I’m A Celebrity! champ Giovanna Fletcher, 37, on being inspired to grow her own in a new TV series where she heads to Italy…
Tell us about the series.
It’s me, my brother, sister, and dad going back to Italy – to where my dad grew up, exploring our heritage in a way we haven’t before, and there’s a real sustainability aspect. We were there all the time as kids during the summer holidays, but I don’t think we really appreciated it in the way we do now – my Nonna making sauces from the tomatoes she’d grown in her vegetable patch. What was it like to be back?
It was really emotional. Nothing has really changed. But with everything that’s happened over the last few years with Covid and that sense of loss, Nonna not being there really hit in a different way than it has before. That understanding of how life is such a fragile thing.
Did you learn anything?
The scale that they do sustainability and growing food is an invaluable thing. It really inspired me and now I’m thinking, “How do I do it, what do I grow?” I’ve found myself eyeing up the “well-rotted manure for sale” sign I pass every day on the school run going, “I need to buy that!” The biggest lesson I learned from the whole trip is that nothing goes to waste, and you can do so much with what you have.
Are you a decent gardener?
I absolutely love it, and I find it really satisfying seeing something start to grow. Last year I had a really successful load of cucumbers, and I take great satisfaction in going for walks in the garden with the kids [Giovanna is mum to Buzz, Buddy and Max with McFly’s Tom Fletcher].
Did I’m A Celebrity! make you appreciate food more?
I do remember there being this sudden love of food just because you’d been eating horrible things the entire time! We did get treats like half a brownie, and when I came out of the show I was like, “I don’t need to have a whole one – half is more than enough because it’s just about the flavour!” Though that all goes quickly…
You cook in this series too? There’s so much food and great wine in the show, and we finish on this massive meal with the family and some friends as well. My dad taught me how to make a pasta dish, which his mum showed him how to make, so me and the kids have been trying it out at home. The boys were literally like, “This is the best pasta we have ever eaten!” It was really lovely to see them falling in love with the culture the way we have.
Were there any mishaps?
We had a day travelling on this idyllic boat trip, but we all felt so horribly seasick! That was a bit of a disappointment, though thankfully none of us were actually sick…
Would you ever live abroad? Every time we go to Valva, we say we’d love to retire there. I can definitely see us doing that, as the kids get older and live their own lives.
Finally, travel tips?
Ayda Williams [aka Mrs Robbie Williams] told me about “packing cubes” – which, for kids, are the best thing ever. Each child has a different colour cube and you put all their shorts in one, T-shirts in another and so on, so when you go somewhere everything’s really accessible and easy to find. And I can travel light…