Chase star Anne Hegerty has offered her take on being ruled out of so many trials during her 18-day stint on I’m A Celebrity.
The quiz whiz, who has Asperger’s syndrome, managed to avoid a number of the show’s challenges on medical grounds.
Some viewers labelled the 60-year-old “lazy” or blamed her large frame, while other fans rushed to defend her.
Even Anne’s manager David Hahn, who appeared on Good Morning Britain alongside Chase co-star Mark ‘The Beast’ Labbett, weighed in on the debate by pointing out that ITV producers “can’t take any risks” with someone of her age.
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Anne herself admitted she was surprised at just how often she was banned from taking part in trials.
But speaking recently with Metro Online, she revealed it had nothing to do with her weight or physical health.
She said: “I was quite freaked out by the first Bushtucker trial and only getting two stars. I could have got four, but either I couldn’t line up the numbers on the padlocks or I wasn’t pushing the spring down properly.
“I don’t want to go into more details as I’d be giving away production secrets, but the ‘exemption on medical grounds’ thing thereafter was really more on the basis of how I’d reacted psychologically to that one, rather than because I’m a fat lump or anything.”
Anne was the fifth celebrity eliminated from the jungle this year. Following her departure, co-host Declan Donnelly made a few cheeky jokes about the fact she was constantly ruled out of trials.
He asked, now that Anne’s gone, “Who’s going to watch them light the fire? Who’s going to watch them cook the dinner?”
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Like many contestants on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, Anne left the jungle much lighter than when she entered.
She stunned viewers when she appeared on This Morning looking much slimmer after more than two weeks of restricted eating, which included having to cut down on rice because it didn’t agree with her.
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