One week into I’m A Celebrity 2023 our first campmate departed the jungle – after ITV confirmed food critic Grace Dent left the show on medical grounds. Now, after much speculation about why she left the jungle, the TV presenter and food critic has spoken about leaving the show and why she's proud of her achievements.
Entering the Aussie jungle, Grace initially wowed fans after taking on the first heights trial with nerves of steel. But after admitting she ‘just wants to go home,’ ITV soon confirmed she would be leaving the show, saying: ‘Unfortunately Grace Dent has left the show on medical grounds.’
‘She has been a great campmate and will be missed by her fellow celebrities and viewers alive.’
Now, Grace has opened up about quitting the show. Thanking fans for the 'outpouring of love', Grace wrote on Instagram, 'I feel overwhelmingly sad right now, but determined to keep alive in my heart the huge personal breakthroughs I made over the weeks. I spent 15 days without a phone or any contact with loved ones, living much of the time outdoors in a rainy forest. It gave me a short, sharp glimpse into the pain some folk worldwide endure. Normal life, forever, will always feel beautiful.'
'Until now, I had no idea I could find a mental space where I could calmly climb down the side of a sky scraper and then slide out on a pole, unlocking stars, as the cars below on the street felt the size of ants.'
She later added, 'For as long as I live, I shall never forget the cockroach that entered my ear canal and the sound of its little feet creeping closer down to my brain. It took us two goes to lure him out.
'The jungle showed me that I am physically stronger than I thought,' she said, adding 'I didn't go out as I planned or I wanted, but I did what I could, and I did it in a siren red gel manicure without chipping a nail. I didn't cry when I took off my bra to find a family of mealworms living in the right cup. At some level, this *must* be an achievement.'
'The jungle showed me how physically strong I am,' she wrote, signing off, 'I hope I gave you all a smile. I didn’t go out as I planned or I wanted, but I did what I could, and I did it in a siren red gel manicure without chipping a nail. I didn’t cry when I took off my bra to find a family of mealworms living in the right cup. At some level, this *must* be an achievement. My plan is to recover…and when the adrenaline finally ebbs away, to make some serious plans for dinner. Three courses, extra potatoes, definitely pudding. I think I deserve it.'
Despite being early days, this year's instalment of the show has already seen campmates struggle with jungle living. Jamie Lynn Spears also departed the camp on medical grounds, with social media star Nella Rose confessing that she would have followed.
What is wrong with Grace Dent? Her medical exit explained
In previous episodes, Grace had been open with her fellow campmates about struggling in the jungle. She told This Morning presenter Josie Gibson, ‘I’ve completely had enough. I just want to go home,’ before later admitting in the Bush Telegraph that, ‘I haven’t got a lot left in me at the moment. I’m just keeping one a face for everybody.’
After her exit was announced, a source close to Grace told the Daily Mail, 'Grace decided to leave the jungle soon after it was announced that she would be doing the latest Bushtucker Trial. Knowing that she would be facing another tough challenge was the straw that broke the camel's back.'
'It was mutually agreed upon that she would stand down from the competition. It was clear that she wasn't being herself, she had lost all energy when usually she's witty and fun to be around. ITV's duty of care and welfare teams had stepped in, and rightly so.'
They added, 'She had struggled since living in the camp with less amenities, the weather this year has been particularly miserable and as a restaurant critic, not eating well proved to be harder than she could have ever imagined.'
Her exit comes after fans raised concerns for the glam MasterChef star over the weekend. One viewer asked, ‘Is Grace okay? Sis isn’t even doing any trials and looks like she’s struggling.'
Another added that the star looked ‘scarily unwell.'
Addressing her exit, one fan wrote, ‘You could see that she wasn’t enjoying it and I was actually concerned. It’s not for everyone that experience, and clearly it wasn’t for her. Hope she’s OK.’
Grace isn't the first campmate to have left I'm A Celebrity on medical grounds. Last year, Olivia Attwood famously withdrew following a medical issue, before 2021’s Richard Madeley left the show after being rushed to hospital.