Daily Record

Bristow partner’s fear for 71-year-old

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BY MARTIN FRICKER ERIC Bristow’s partner believes the late darts legend’s appearance on I’m A Celebrity had a “massive effect” on his health.

Bex Gadd says she now fears for 71-year-old Harry Redknapp, who is bookies’ fave to be King of the Jungle.

Bex, who lost Eric to a heart attack in April, aged 60, believes he was “never the same again” after spending 22 days in the jungle in 2012.

At the time Eric, known as The Crafty Cockney, spoke at length about how much he enjoyed his stint Down Under, saying: “I enjoyed my time there – you certainly find out a lot about yourself.”

But Bex claims: “It changed him for ever. The Eric that went in the jungle was not the same Eric that came out, unfortunat­ely. It did make him poorly and a much frailer person. Muscles that he did have never came back.

“The effects of being in the jungle took a massive toll on Eric’s health. I don’t think he ever fully recovered from it. I do worry about Harry given he is in his 70s.” Bex revealed Eric, who would regularly down 15 pints of Guinness in a session and “never played darts sober”, lost four stone between signing up for the series and coming out in fourth place. “He lost two stone before he went in because he gave up alcohol to prove to the producers that he was not alcoholdep­endent,” she said. “Then he lost another two stone in the jungle. Four stone in literally a couple a months is far too much. “The total detox of going into I’m A Celebrity and then coming out didn’t do his body any good at all. Eric was really poorly when he came out.” Despite reportedly making him frailer, Bex says his jungle stint played no part in his tragic death. Eric collapsed minutes after hosting a VIP meet-and-greet event at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, six years after his jungle appearance. “It was literally Bex is concerned for wellbeing of Redknapp

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