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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Zoe Delaney

I'm A Celebrity legend's child says it was 'tough' to watch other stars bully her on TV

One of Gillian McKeith's daughters has revealed how tough it was watching her mum appear on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

Gillian, 63, became one of the most iconic celebrities to ever enjoy a stint in the jungle back in 2010, thanks to her time on the show being littered with memorable moments.

But the star's daughter Afton McKeith, who was just 10 at the time, struggled as her mum endured Bushtucker Trial after Bushtucker Trial and seemingly fainted twice while in camp.

"I was very worried about her," Afton admits when look back on her mum's time in the jungle. "It was hard watching because you see the celebrities talking to camera behind their backs. A lot of them were talking about my mum in not such a nice way on the show."

Gillian McKeith after fainting during a Bushtucker Trial in 2010 (Daily Record)

She goes on to recall how it became tough to watch the show with all the other family members around, due to how some of the celebrities were acting towards Gillian in the camp.

Over a decade on from appearing on the ITV reality TV show, Gillian is still having to hit back at claims she faked her fainting ordeals during her jungle adventure.

Carol Vorderman - who became a campmate in 2016 - accused the former You Are What You Eat host of pretending to faint during a recent episode of This Morning.

Gillian shares two daughters with her American husband Howard (Getty Images)
Afton says it was 'tough' watching her mum struggle in the jungle (WireImage)

"I did not pretend to faint," Gillian quickly replied to Carol on the ITV daytime show. "I have a medical condition. I can’t believe you’re mocking it! That’s terrible – since five years old!"

Speaking with The Sun, Afton backs her mum up and says: "My mum does have history of fainting since she was five years old. I know she fainted for real. She has very low blood pressure sometimes when she hasn't eaten, and that's known to lead to fainting.

"It's not very nice when people make comments about it and try to insinuate it wasn't real."

Gillian has always argued she never faked anything during her time on I'm A Celebrity (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

She goes on to claim some celebrities who camped with her mum in the jungle 'like to use her name' for attention despite knowing mum-of-two Gillian has fainted multiple times throughout her life.

At the start of this month, comedian Dom Joly - who appeared alongside Gillian on I'm A Celebrity in 2010 - took to Twitter to offer his thoughts on his campmates fainting episodes.

"Re fake fainting…I was next to Gillian McKeith when she “fainted” live on I’m a Celeb," he began as this year's series of I'm A Celebrity kicked off.

He added: "She ruined the look by adjusting her shirt once supposedly unconscious on the jungle floor…"

Fellow camper Jenny Eclair replied to Dom's tweet, claiming: "I was there too - by this point I was a bit bored of the fainting!"

Last year, Gillian told the Metro she 'doesn't care' if people think her fainting episodes weren't genuine.

"I actually have a medical history of fainting," she told the publication.

"I know I fainted and I don’t care what anyone else says to be honest, it doesn’t really bother me. The older you get, the less you care anyway."

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