Frankie Dettori has made the surprise confession that it’s not his family he’ll struggle to be separated from while he’s immersed in the Australian jungle, but his travel schedule.
The acclaimed jockey, who says his Italian heritage makes him “emotional” and likely to cry on the show, explained: “I have spent 30 years away from my family and so I am used to that but I do love travelling.
“One of the hardest things for me will be missing travelling. It will be difficult.”
He also added that the show will take him completely out of his comfort zone, after it began to “sink in” how much of a challenge the jungle could be.
“This is going to be tougher than a horse race, it is going to be a challenge!” he exclaimed to ITV.
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Racing is almost second nature to the jockey champ, who rode no fewer than seven winning horses at Ascot back in 1996, but eating “bo**ocks”, on the other hand, is a totally new experience.
That said, Frankie will be taking the challenge good-naturedly, after revealing: “I have seen some of the disgusting things but that’s the kind of thing I want to do!”
He added: “My family can’t wait for me to take part, and believe it or not, they are looking forward to me eating bush tucker too!”
Frankie, who believes he’s been in the public domain long enough to be known to everyone, says he’s hoping as a late entrant to I’m A Celebrity to “bring some energy into the camp”.
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That’s something that Marvin Humes and Fred Sirieix have also been engaged in recently, after they put on an impromptu performance to cheer up a glum-looking Jamie-Lynn Spears.
Jamie-Lynn, who is the sister of pop star Britney Spears, broke down in tears after reliving her difficult experience of parenting a baby in her teens while hailing from a famous family and wishing she could “hide away”.
She was then serenaded by Marvin, who sang a Mario song to her, while Fred gamely banged a drum to provide percussion for it.
Frankie is now hoping that, as a latecomer, he can still “fit in” with the group of “starving” contestants, who’ll have got to know each other already in the early days of camp together.
“They will all have been friends for a few days, but I am a person who adapts very quickly and hopefully it will be nice and fun,” he predicted.
Making it clear he’ll do his best to pull his weight, he added: “I will definitely try and win some stars. I don’t want to let my campmates down!”
Frankie admits he can scarcely sit still, he’s “impatient” and he will miss spending his “whole life at airports”, but immersing himself in a tough jungle environment still isn’t going to faze the self-proclaimed “fighter”.
Deliberating over whether he could win the coveted title of King of the Jungle, he shrugged off the prospect.
“If I come out victorious, then that will be great but it’s not the end result. For me, challenging yourself and meeting new people whilst doing this means I am already a winner!” he explained.
Boxing champ Tony Bellew will also be joining the ranks as a latecomer with Frankie.
I’m A Celebrity continues Thursday 23rd November, 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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