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JANE MOORE
Why I’ve finally agreed to take the plunge in the I’m A Celeb jungle – and what I fear will be my biggest challenge
Jane also reveals all the tests she had to undergo before she could take part in the show
THE Sun’s columnist Jane Moore is heading into the I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here! camp.
It is a big moment for our Jungle Jane, who first joined the paper in 1985 when she was made Bizarre Editor at the age of 23.
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Over the years she’s covered crime, the royals, been Women’s Editor, joined our Jabs Army in Covid and is The Sun’s longest-serving columnist.
Since 1999, she has been part of ITV’s Loose Women where viewers value her bold and considered voice.
Today — as we encourage Sun readers to join Team Jane and back her exploits Down Under — she speaks for the first time about why she has finally agreed to join Ant and Dec’s jungle capers after years of turning ITV bosses down.
" I PUT on the trousers, the shirt, the boots and, finally, the hat.
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Turning to the mirror, the reflection staring back at me is wearing one of the most iconic outfits on British television . . . and reality finally hits.
S**t, I’m entering the I’m A Celebrity jungle.
As you read this, I will already be squirrelled away in an Australian hotel room, stripped of all communication devices and bracing myself to face any number of horrors for the purposes of your entertainment.
Why? It’s a question I asked myself when I was first approached to take part in the 2010s, and the answer was a firm “thanks, but no thanks”.
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I was married, my kids were younger, my life was far busier and, to be honest, I don’t see myself as a ‘celebrity’ (altogether now Twitter trolls, ‘neither do we’.)
I’m a journalist and, consequently, despite being a regular on Loose Women (alongside the likes of Andrea McLean and Nadia Sawalha) and various political shows or documentaries, have always preferred to stay below the ‘TV personality’ parapet.
Meet your Campmates Im A Celebrity 2024
So why the change of heart?
Well, not long after my 60th birthday in 2022, I got divorced and found myself living alone in what had once been the family home full of perpetual noise, school runs, kids coming and going with their mates, and a dog that needed walking.
But then the kids moved out, my marriage ended (amicably — we’re still friends), and our Tibetan terrier Jasper had to be put down at the ripe old age of 16 after he lost all interest in food, drink and walks.
It meant that for the first time in decades, I was rattling around an empty house with lots of ‘me time’ and the opportunity to really contemplate what I want from the final third of my life. And the answer is, ‘adventure’.
Certain close friends have died too young, so I consider myself very lucky to still be here with, touch wood, no serious ailments, and I want to make the most of the active years I have left.
Added in to the mix is that my elderly mother is living with dementia and is in need of 24/7 care.
Seeing her once vibrant life being slowly eroded by Alzheimer’s has brought my own in to sharp focus and, cliché I know, reminded me that our time on this planet is short.
So when this once-in-a-lifetime experience was offered to me again, my immediate thought this time was, ‘Why not?’.
After all, what’s a few bugs, entrails, snakes and plunges from great heights (famous last words) when you get the chance to spend a couple of weeks in the Australian jungle with some interesting people and no outside distractions?
Oh, and you get paid too.
What’s a few bugs, entrails, snakes and plunges from great heights (famous last words) when you get the chance to spend a couple of weeks in the Australian jungle with some interesting people?
So off I went to the I’m A Celeb production team’s offices in West London for a ‘no commitment’ chat where I was asked about my strong points (organised, hard-working), weak points (low boredom threshold, cooking skills), and greatest fear.
‘I look terrible in a hat’, I replied, and they all laughed dutifully.
After that, your name goes on a shortlist for network chiefs and presenters Ant and Dec, who decide whether you’ll fit well with that year’s mix.
Ten introverts wouldn’t work, but neither would ten complete show-offs either.
I assume they also want a range of ages, backgrounds, personalities and skillsets to appeal to everyone.
An ardent fan of the show, I’ve watched it every year since it first started in 2002, and it’s clear that the ‘mix’ usually includes a journalist, presumably because we’re inquisitive (aka downright nosy) and ask questions.
When the official offer arrived, the next conversation was with my two daughters to make sure they were OK with me heading off in to the jungle and potentially eating kangaroo testicles on national TV.
Unsurprisingly, after learning they’d be staying in a nice hotel nearby and hanging out on set, they decided they were just fine with it.
So I accepted the challenge, officially boarded the high-speed I’m A Celeb train and was given a pseudonym to try and keep my involvement a secret.
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First stop was a medical to assess whether, physically, I was up to it.
A delightful nurse (think Zooey Deschanel in Elf) took my blood pressure and asked me to stand on a weighing machine that also assessed my nerve health, pulse etc.
Then a doctor asked me if there was any reason why I couldn’t jump out of a plane, did I have any allergies and was I scared of heights.
Answers: ‘No’, ‘papaya’, and ‘don’t think so’.
Straight afterwards, it was off for my ‘psych’ test with the show’s long-standing psychiatrist Dr Sandra Scott, who will also be on hand once we’ve entered the jungle.
Having never had therapy, it was my first time in front of a ‘shrink’. Rather than me asking the questions, I was the one under scrutiny and it felt strange.
She asked whether there were any issues in my life that might bubble to the surface in the unique surroundings I was about to find myself in.
I’d describe myself as an 'outgoing introvert' — someone who generally enjoys social interaction but also needs time alone to recharge
Jane Moore
Hunger and boredom, she said, can bring out a side of us that we didn’t even know existed.
She also warned that, given the popularity and intensity of the show, the attention you receive can be on a level never experienced before — both good and bad.
I'm A Celebrity 2024
As the hit ITV show enters into its 24th series, a brand new batch of famous faces look set to enter the Aussie jungle once again to face terrifying Bushtucker Trials and living amongst the critters in camp in order to come out on top and be crowned King or Queen of the Jungle. The Sun's Jake Penkethman takes a look at the stars heading Down Under this year...
I’d describe myself as an “outgoing introvert” — someone who generally enjoys social interaction but also needs time alone to recharge.
So 24/7 interaction with people I don’t know will be a challenge.
But I’ll use my natural curiosity to get to know them and, hopefully, we’ll gel.
Having passed the medical and psych test, there followed a blissful couple of weeks of utter denial as I went about my daily life.
Then came the titles shoot and official photo.
For the titles (the bit where you swivel round and smile to camera at the top of the show) I wore my own clothes.
For the latter, it was the famous outfit that, once I saw myself in it, meant any further denial was futile.
Since then, my mind has been whirring non-stop about what I might face in the rainforest just outside Brisbane, Australia.
The occasional spider in my bath doesn’t bother me, but dozens of them crawling all over me?
I have no idea how I’ll react.
I don’t think I’m claustrophobic, but then I have never been put in a coffin underground with just snakes or rats for company.
And as for heights, well, I can go up a ladder without issue.
But not sure about anything higher than that.
So watch this space. As I have always said to my kids, all you can ever do is your best
Jane Moore
So watch this space.
As I have always said to my kids, all you can ever do is your best.
As a woman ‘of a certain age’ there’s a level of invisibility in society, even if you’re pretty gobby like me.
So when a friend told me website Oddschecker already has me as the least likely to win at 16/1, I wasn’t surprised.
The aforementioned low profile doesn’t help either.
Boxer Barry McGuigan, 63, is one of those with me in the predicted bottom three and we are two of the three oldest campmates by some margin, so make of that what you will.
But, as a generation who grew up without social media (heaven), we will also have the smallest online followings.
Will that matter when it comes to votes?
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Maybe. Maybe not. But hand on heart, I don’t care.
I am just there for the adventure, and to do my bit for menopausal women everywhere — one HRT patch at a time.
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