Gillian McKeith’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! stint was iconic for so many reasons.
From fainting during a live Bushtucker Trial to sneaking seasoning into camp in her knickers, Gillian captured the hearts of many viewers who felt for her plight, and made others roll their eyes.
But one thing’s for certain – she’ll go down in ITV history as one of the most famous contestants on the show ever.
And it doesn’t look like Gillian is forgetting her time in the Australian jungle any time soon, either, as she still suffers from PTSD after her experience – and struggles to enter small spaces like two-door cars or lifts.
In the trial, Gillian was placed in a coffin in the ground and secured with chains while rats ran over her body – and, after fainting, had to be given oxygen by medics.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Star Online, Gillian admitted: “I definitely still suffer from PTSD. Since that jungle trial, the one where I was buried under the ground in a coffin and rats landed on top of me, it still feels like yesterday.
(Image: ITV)
“What has happened is, every time I have to go into a small space like a lift, I feel like I’m going to start screaming. I feel an intense rising panic that I simply can’t control, so if I try and go into a small lift – or any lift to be honest – I can’t do it.”
She added: “I just have to get out, so I just have to take the stairs! So at least I keep fit.
“The other thing that’s happened is that if I have to get in the back seat of a car and it’s a two-door, then I can’t do it, I have to get back out again.
“There’s this rising panic that I’m trapped I can’t get out, and I start screaming, ‘Let me out, let me out!’ – I just can’t control it. It’s uncontrollable.
(Image: ITV)
“Now I have to go where I’m sitting next to a door so I can get out. I don’t like child locks because they make me feel trapped. So it definitely had an impact.”
Reflecting on the trial, Gillian mused: “I think if you stick anyone in a coffin under the ground and chain them up with rats running on top of them, something’s going to give, surely.
“You’re not going to feel the same. I went in without claustrophobia and came out with it.”
Speaking about the trial back in 2010, Gillian explained on I’m A Celeb: “I wasn’t expecting anything in there.
“I thought there was going to be tonnes of water on my face. I could feel myself passing out. I tried. I desperately tried. I have massive phobias that I’m facing.”
(Image: Getty Images)
And what has she learned from her time in the jungle?
“Lesson one – never do it again!” she giggles. “Lesson two, don’t go camping, because you hate it.
“Lesson three – stand your ground on who you really are. Don’t be afraid to be yourself – really be you. I think that is probably the strongest thing I took with me, to be a leader in life and not a follower, because that will serve you well in everything.
“I think a lot of people might be thinking something but they’re afraid to really be true to themselves, and that’s something I really learned while in there.
“You might ruffle feathers because you don’t want to be a follower, but at least you can look in the mirror and say, ‘Do you know something, I stuck by my values, I stuck by what I believe in’, and you can really face yourself every day because you went with your gut and what’s right for you.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
