Fans of I’m a Celebrity…Get me out of Here! have called Sue Cleaver’s birth mother story “heartwarming”, after the Coronation Street star revealed the chance meeting while speaking to her teammates in the jungle.
Talking around the firepit on Friday night’s (11 November) episode, Cleaver said that when she was in her early twenties, she was at drama school and the Royal Exchange in Manchester where they were looking for “tiny parts” for the theatre production of Oedipus.
The 59-year-old added that on her first day she was approached by a fellow actor who said: “Oh my god, she’s the absolute double of my wife when I met her.” The man then asked for her date of birth.
Cleaver said the man then asked where she was born, and when she replied “Barnet”, the man rung his wife and he said: “I’ve found her.”
Reacting to the story, former England footballer Jill Scott said: “Nah, that has just given me goosebumps. That is the most incredible story I think I’ve ever heard.”
Comedian Babatunde Aleshe added: “That’s spooky. That’s mad.”
Cleaver added of her birth mother: “She was 16 or 17 when she had me. I think she did what she had to do. I grew up in a very loving family. It’s uncanny and I’ve got two half sisters who are all in the business.”
Fans of the show were quick to react to the story on social media, with one Twitter user writing: “Omg, Sue Cleaver’s story as an adopted child on #ImACeleb, just wow. As someone who was adopted, I could feel all her emotions. I’ve always liked her but really appreciated how she navigated the words of her story. An absolute gem.”
Another added: “Sue Cleaver’s Mum story is absolutely mind-blowing.”
While a third said: “The way Sue Cleaver found her birth mother is madness.”
Others called the story “heartwarming” and “beautiful” and “touching”.
Elsewhere in the episode, Matt Hancock’s campmates supported the MP when he asked for forgiveness for his Covid rule breaking.
“We all make mistakes. I made a pretty big one,” Hancock said.
Additional reporting by PA
