Vernon Kay was one of our favourite campmates on the most recent series of I’m A Celeb. It turns out that producers had been trying to get him on board for years – only for their plans to be scuppered by Vernon’s friendship with presenters Ant and Dec, who convinced him not to go on the show.
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Ant and Dec talked Vernon out of I’m A Celeb for years
Appearing on the Netmums Sweat, Snot & Tears podcast, Vernon revealed that Ant and Dec had been putting him off going into the jungle for years. He said that he knew the show would be hard because the three have been close friends for a while and even golf together on a regular basis. In previous years they’ve said:
Oh, it’s horrific, you don’t want to do what they’re doing.
In the end, Vernon may well have regretted holding out so long as he probably picked the most gruelling year to go on I’m A Celeb, with the action moved to Wales’ Gwrych Castle, where the campmates were subjected to freezing temperatures as opposed to the usual Australian sunshine in the jungle.
Dec’s I’m A Celeb tips
Vernon also revealed that his good pal Declan Donnelly gave him some top tips prior to going into Gwrych Castle last November, saying:
I phoned Dec and he said, 'Just go in and enjoy it. You know what’s coming, there’s cockroaches, there’s horrific things, but just go in and enjoy it'
Dec’s advice obviously served Vernon well as he beat out the likes of Mo Farah, Beverley Callard and Shane Richie to finish the show in third place, just behind author and podcaster Giovanna Fletcher and Radio 1 DJ Jordan North. And with a rumoured pay packet of £250,000, we doubt he has any regrets!
