Olympian Matty Lee has said his diving teammate Tom Daley told him to be himself and make the most out of the experience ahead of him entering the I’m A Celebrity camp.
Lee, 23, won the men’s 10-metre synchro gold with Daley in Tokyo and said it was “nice” to be rewarded out of the pool with something he wants to do after five years of training to achieve diving success.
He will now face the harsh elements and bushtucker trials alongside 10 other famous faces as the show returns to Gwrych Castle near Abergele in North Wales.
Discussing what his teammate Daley had advised him, Lee said: “He just said to be myself. Obviously, he knows who I am without cameras or anything like that.
“He said to me, be yourself, don’t be nervous. Obviously he understands that at first you might be a bit nervous, you’re in a very different environment with new people, but he said just enjoy, be yourself, and make the most of it.”
The Olympic champion revealed that his coach and his national performance director were also “all on board” with him taking on this new challenge.
He added: “I’ve just trained for the past five years straight to try and get to where we did, and we managed to do the best thing we could ever do so then it’s nice to get rewarded out of the pool and be able to do something I want to do.”
Lee noted that this break will obviously affect his fitness routine and revealed he had been doing home workouts during the isolation period before the show but once he enters he has been told not to train.
🩲 Matty Lee 🩲
• 23 from Leeds• Olympic Gold Medallist• Biggest Fear: Rats 🐀 pic.twitter.com/LCHT3NuL9W
— I'm A Celebrity… (@imacelebrity) November 17, 2021
He explained: “Whilst I’m in there, I’ve been instructed – because obviously you’re not really eating much, you’re in a big calorie deficit – basically not to do that much exercise unless we eat a big meal, because obviously then instead of burning away calories you burn away muscle mass and that’s the last thing we want.
“So I’ve got my team who are supporting me through it and making sure that I’m at the best possible position after I get out to be able to bounce back in.”
The diver added that he was excited for the public to get to know him as he feels he is “quite likeable” but people do not get to see that side of him when they watch the “athlete version” of Lee during competitions.
He also revealed that he has packed his speedo swimming trunks for the castle but added with a laugh: “I’m debating whether to bring them in or not, now I don’t know if I should because I don’t want to be that guy.”
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! launches on Sunday at 9pm on ITV.