Christine McGuinness has shared her inspiring reason for competing on The Games.
The former Miss Liverpool is participating on ITV's new programme, which premieres tonight. The competition will see famous faces trained by some of the UK's top coaches before taking on a host of different challenges.
The Games will be hosted by Holly Willoughby and Freddie Flintoff - and Christine will be joined in the contest by Emmerdale star Rebecca Sarker and former Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas. Christine shares three autistic children - Felicity, Leo and Penelope - with comedian Paddy McGuinness.
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She appeared on today's edition of This Morning and explained she is taking part in the competition for her children. She added: They are my biggest inspiration. They just go for it with anything in life and they really inspire me. I've always been a bit scared, especially with sport.
"When I was at school I would never have put myself forward for the netball team or anything. I was that girl at school that never took part. But my children just do it. So because of them, they've inspired me to push myself out of my comfort zone and do something a bit different."
The 33-year-old revealed she was "confirmed as autistic" in her book, Christine McGuinness: A Beautiful Nightmare, which was released last year. She said: "It’s strange, but I’ve noticed there are little hints throughout my life that I’m autistic and more like my children than I ever could have imagined.
"My issues with food, my social struggles, how hard I find it to make friends and stay focused, and my indecisiveness. The way I float through life reminds me of how my eldest daughter Penelope is. It all makes sense now. And as much as I’m not totally surprised, it’s still been emotional for me to accept, but it’s a relief as well."
Christine was diagnosed in August after she was invited, alongside her husband, to meet expert Sir Simon Baron-Cohen at Cambridge University. The married couple were given an AQ questionnaire, which tests for symptoms of autism. Christine scored a high 36 out of 50 - and was diagnosed two weeks later as being "quite high up on the spectrum".
She added: "It was a lot to take in and once my appointment was over, I broke down in floods of tears. I think it’s because the news conjured up a mixture of emotions and while I’m not totally shocked and it’s a relief, I’m just really sad for my younger self."
The Games starts tonight at 9pm on ITV and ITV Hub
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