I’m A Celebrity star Carol Vorderman reveals secret identity of the man she fell in love with in South Africa
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star Carol Vorderman has told how she fell in love in South Africa.
The former Countdown presenter, 62, returns to the camp on the all-stars special of the ITV talent show on Monday after previously taking part in those famous Bushtucker Trials back in 2016.
Unlike usual series of I’m A Celeb, which take place live in the Australian jungle, this special was pre-recorded last year at Kruger National Park and sees nine celebrities competing to become the first-ever I’m A Celebrity Legend.
The Sun also revealed recently how the celebs will be joined by surprise arrivals in the camp.
In an exclusive interview with Saturday’s TV Mag ahead of the launch of the show, Carol reveals why South Africa holds a special place in her heart.
She says: “I went there when I was 19. I met the first love of my life Andy when I was working on an engineering construction site – his next job was in Botswana and I flew over. We visited South Africa and there were giraffes running around, and I swam with great white sharks.”
Remarkably, that South African love story went on to play a huge part in Carol landing her big TV break as the maths whiz on Channel 4 show Countdown alongside original rost
Carol says: “When Andy was back in the UK and I had graduated, he lived in Leeds. My mum was homeless, living in student digs, and I was more or less living out of my car.
“After about a year I said to her: ‘Mum, this can’t go on, we can afford a place in Leeds.’ I got the company I was working for to give me a transfer, I found us this house and we moved in.
“Three weeks later Mum was reading this article in the local paper about how Yorkshire Television in Leeds was starting this show called Countdown on this new channel called Channel 4.
“They had this numbers game but couldn’t find anyone who could do it – so my mum wrote a letter, put my graduation photo in, forged my signature and sent it to Yorkshire Television!
“It’s quite weird, really. I love that story because of all the chances – had I not gone out with Andy, I would never have gone to Yorkshire, I’d never have got Countdown, life would have been very different.
“All the sliding doors.”
I’m A Celebrity… South Africa airs on weekdays from Monday at 9pm on ITV. TV Mag is free inside The Sun every Saturday.