Dean Gaffney has said he put on nearly a stone during his stint in the I’m A Celebrity jungle because he “ate like a king.”
The former EastEnders star is the latest contestant to depart the current all-star version of show, as he revealed he is one of the first people to pile on the pounds in camp, having previously lost two stone the first time he appeared on the series in 2015.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “It’s a great honour to have been asked back. I think it’s something like 300 people have gone through camp in the last 22 years, and as one of 15 to be asked back was actually a great accolade.”
'It's been an amazing experience.'
Actor @deangaffney1 talks to @susannareid100 and @adilray about his time in South Africa for the latest series of @imacelebrity
He says it was an 'honour to have been asked back.' pic.twitter.com/KpYNAlMEz9
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) May 11, 2023
While most stars lose weight in the jungle because of the meagre rations they are given, Gaffney said he ate well because the group kept winning food from the challenges.
He said: “This is true, cause we kept winning, it was brilliant!
“For me it was an absolute breeze going into camp, I went in there for six, seven days, I ate like a king and it was nice!
“That’s the thing in camp, people do lose weight. When I was in the original camp, with David Gest, rest his soul, I lost two stone and now I’ve put on nearly a stone!”
Discussing the biggest challenge of returning to the jungle, he said: “The worst thing for me was not having a mirror, a silly little thing like a mirror.
“You wake up in the morning, we all have bed head and you wake up and you’re like, ‘Ah what do I look like?’ You can’t see!”
He added: “Can I just clear up that I did have a shower every day, two showers a day.
“They said on the show the other day that ‘it was my first shower in five days.’”