Seann Walsh has admitted how ‘scared’ he felt to go on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! 2022 after the ‘fallout’ of his Strictly Come Dancing stint four years ago.
His girlfriend ended up convincing him to enter the jungle, with the comedian saying he’s ‘really looking forward to taking part in this show’, ahead of his debut alongside former health secretary Matt Hancock.
In 2018, the 36-year-old competed on Strictly and was partnered with professional dancer Katya Jones, but the pair became embroiled in controversy when they were photographed kissing, despite both being romantically involved with other people.
They issued a public apology at the time, before being eliminated in week six.
Having previously emphasised the ‘guilt’ he felt over the incident, which occurred when he was in a relationship with actress Rebecca Humphries, Seann is now ready to return to TV, thanks to a nudge from his girlfriend Grace Adderley.
Tonight (Wednesday November 9), he’s set to arrive in the I’m A Celebrity jungle with the politician as the pair take part in a Bushtucker Trial together.
Speaking ahead of his entrance, Seann acknowledged that ‘people have voiced their feelings about me’, as he expressed his hope that ‘they will see I am very different’.
‘I want to create new memories,’ he added.
The stand-up comic credited his partner with being the ‘main reason’ why he’s taking part on the show.
Referencing his time on Strictly, he added: ‘As you can imagine I was very scared after the last time I was on a big show because the fallout was not something you would want to go back to.
‘Grace talked me into doing it. She convinced me it was the wrong attitude to have not doing it because I feared what people would think, but to do it because I would have a wonderful time.’
As for what his greatest fear is, Seann confessed he’s not a fan of rats… so we can already visualise him doing a certain challenge that could see him face his phobia.
The two newcomers will join the nine campmates already in the jungle – Mike Tindall, Boy George, Charlene White, Jill Scott, Owen Warner, Babatunde Aléshé, Sue Cleaver, Scarlette Douglas and Chris Moyles.
Love Island star Olivia Attwood was forced to back out of the competition early due to unknown medical grounds after just 24 hours.
I’m A Celebrity returns tonight at 9pm on ITV.