Craig Charles says I’m A Celebrity made him ‘re-evaluate life’
Craig Charles has admitted returning to compete in I’m A Celebrity means more to him than most contestants – as he wants to make his late brother proud of him.
The former Coronation Street star and radio DJ was forced to leave the Australian jungle early in 2014 after just four days, when he was told his brother Dean had passed away. The pair had not spoken for several years due to a family dispute, making the death even tougher to take for Craig.
The 61-year-old said: “The death of my brother, Dean, changed my life the last time I was on I’m A Celebrity. I was 50 at the time, my brother was 52, I had been in Corrie for ten years and I came in to do the jungle, then Dean passed away.
“It made me re-evaluate things. I just thought if that had happened to me, would I be happy with what I’d achieved? I came up with the answer and it was ‘no’. I had been in Corrie for ten years and I felt in a rut. I was really enjoying my time in the Australian jungle and it got sadly cut short. I knew I wanted to have some new adventures after that.“But since I left, there have been years of ‘What ifs?’ It’s nice to put that to bed.”
Before the ‘legends’ series started in 2023, there was little chance of Craig returning to camp as celebrities are not usually allowed a second chance on the show. So he jumped at the chance to take part in the second series set in South Africa.
He said: “At first, I’m A Celebrity… felt bittersweet after I’d left. And in the first few years I couldn’t watch the show. It made me sad and it opened a world of loss. Every year it came around, I would feel a sense of loss and a feeling of what might have been – both for my brother and for me. He was only 52 and he would have been 63 now, which is no age.
“But that feeling has decreased over the years, and the last few years I have been able to watch it again without feeling the pain and the grief. And so, when this came round, it was at the right time. I feel strong and confident enough to face it again and have a laugh!”
Asked if he hoped to make his brother proud, Craig nodded and added: “I found out when I got back for the funeral that after the first episode, he turned to his wife and said: ‘he is going to win that’. But sadly, Dean never woke up and so hopefully I will make him proud.”
Craig discussed his first jungle exit with the Big Issue in 2020. He said: “If I could have one last conversation with anyone it would be my brother Dean. He tried to get hold of me just before I went into the jungle [to do ITV’s I’m a Celebrity in 2014].
“We’d not spoken for a few years – there was a family falling out. And I just thought, you know what, I’ll leave it, go and do the jungle thing and I’ll come out and we’ll all be together for Christmas. And he died while I was over there. The production team came to me and asked me to go and see the psychiatrist and I just thought it was a health check, you know, to see how you’re coping.
“But the doctor said, “I’ve got some terrible news to tell you, Craig. Your brother Dean has passed away.” So I had to get on a plane straight away. He was so far away. And it took so long to get back. I’d have loved to have had a conversation with him. I’d have loved to have made up.”
Craig was seen going into camp as a late entry tonight alongside Gemma Collins. He was with her in camp first time around too, when she also left early, struggling to cope with Jungle life. Although not in there for a long time, Craig insists he learned he was “quite adaptable and can fit into most situations”.
This time on the ITV show he thinks he may struggle to cope even more given he is a decade older. Laughing he said: “But I’ve got nothing to offer! I am not the same person as I was. My fitness has fallen off a cliff and the older I get, the more scared I get of things. I was fearless then and now I am scared of heights. I also don’t like creepy crawlies.”
He added: “I can’t wait to get going now. I’ve been once before and it is such a beautiful and amazing country. It is great to be back and it’s so different to the UK. I have got a little bit of fear, but I am also excited. I don’t want to let anyone down though – and I don’t want to come across as a decrepit old fart!”
Craig, well known for playing Lloyd Mullaney in soap Corrie for a decade from 2005, said his two daughters gave him one piece of advice before he jetted out to take part, joking “be anyone but you”.
Asked how he would feel if he was crowned the jungle legend, he said: “I am not expecting to win! If I do, then I will think the world has gone mad!”
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