Gillian McKeith is still defending herself over infamous I’m A Celebrity faint 12 years later: ‘I can’t believe you’re mocking it’-Alistair McGeorge-Entertainment – Metro

Poor Gillian McKeith is still having to convince people she actually fainted on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! over a decade ago.

The former You Are What You Eat host couldn’t face another gruesome Bushtucker Trial and ended up fainting at the prospect of another tough challenge, but she still has her doubters who reckon the whole thing was staged to avoid the task.

It seems Carol Vorderman, who appeared on the reality show six years later in 2016, is among them as she joked about the incident during an appearance with Gillian on Monday’s This Morning.

Asked what she hated most about her stint in the jungle, Gillian admitted: ‘Everything! It was horrendous! I was out every single day doing trials!’

‘Then you pretended to faint,’ Carol quipped, and the TV star was quick to protest her innocence and pointed to her history of fainting.

‘I did not pretend to faint,’ she said. ‘I have a medical condition. I can’t believe you’re mocking it! That’s terrible – since five years old!’

Carol Vorderman thought Gillian McKeith had faked it (Picture: ITV/This Morning)

Gillian is still having to defend herself (Picture: ITV/This Morning)

Gillian also joked that ‘leaving’ the camp was the only redeeming feature of her time on the show, before admitting she did make ‘a couple of friends’, although she ‘wasn’t in camp very often’ because of all the trials she was voted to do.

As well as the trip down memory lane, the two I’m A Celebrity alum weighed in on Sunday’s launch as the new series got underway, and Carol felt sorry for Babatunde Aleshe after he quit the first trial when faced with the prospect of walking the plank at the top of a huge skyscraper.

‘I think that was really difficult for him. He says he’s frightened of everything,’ the Countdown star added. ‘I was the first one to walk the plank and I’m telling you, it was very shaky… I’m not frightened of heights, but that was something else.’

Gillian fainted after being chosen for a live trial (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

She found herself ‘screaming’ as she watched on TV, and she ‘really felt for him’ in the moment.

‘I really felt for him. He’s the only person who’s ever walked backwards along the plank,’ she said, while Gillian added: ‘I do think he’s in trouble.’

Meanwhile, it has since been confirmed that Olivia Attwood has been forced to quit I’m A Celebrity just hours after the launch on medical grounds.

A spokesperson said in a statement: ‘As a precautionary measure Olivia needed to leave the jungle to undergo some medical checks. Unfortunately the medical team has advised it is not safe for Olivia to return to camp as there needs to be a further investigation.’

They added to PA: ‘She has been absolutely brilliant and she’ll be very much missed on the show.’

This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV. I’m A Celebrity continues tonight at 9pm, also on ITV.

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