Distress: Gillian McKeith was given oxygen by Dr Bob as she fainted after her Bushtucker Trial, the Crate Escape
She has a phobia of creepy crawlies and almost drowned a few months ago.
So being locked in a pitch-black crate filled with rats and spiders, into which water began dripping, was never going to be Gillian McKeith’s idea of fun.
The controversial nutritionist was so overcome by her challenge on I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! that she collapsed.
Doctors quickly moved in to revive her with oxygen as she fainted in her crate, prompting fears that she will quit the ITV reality show soon.
I’m A Celebrity has reversed its downward ratings trend with its best-ever launch show figures, peaking at 12.5 million viewers and putting it on a par with Strictly Come Dancing.
Dietician Miss McKeith, best-known for her Channel 4 show You Are What You Eat, battled with politician Lembit Opik to be the first to escape from a crate in the Australian jungle yesterday.
Terror: Gillian had to try and unlock padlocks on her arms, legs and around her waist in the pitch black
Phobias: And she wasn't alone, being joined by insects of all sorts and rats
They were soon joined by rats, but the former Lib Dem MP, 45, managed to free himself from his shackles, clambering through his escape tunnel to safety.
However, Miss McKeith panicked and screamed as water started dripping into her crate.
When doctor Bob McCarron came to her rescue, she fainted and had to be given oxygen.
Get me out of here! Gillain is given a helping hand by Dr Bob as she clambers out
Faint: The TV nutritionist was carried to safety by Bob and a colleague
Observers have already raised question marks over her suitability after she admitted she had never watched the show from start to finish and has a phobia of spiders and insects.
Before the challenge, she was seen flinching when a mosquito landed on her.
She also panicked on one of the show’s jungle walkways, claiming she could not go any further as there was a spider blocking her path. She only carried on after rangers removed the cobweb.
Take a deep breath: Gillian was given oxygen as medics tried to calm her down
Struggling: Bob attempted to get Gillian to take a deep breath of oxygen
Of her trial, she said: ‘I wasn’t expecting anything in there. I thought there was going to be tons of water on my face, I couldn’t see the lock.
'I could feel myself passing out. I have massive phobias that I’m facing. It’s not like I’m not trying.’
She then pointed out she had arrived in a helicopter after a friend had died in a crash and that she had slept out in the jungle overnight despite being terrified of insects.
She told her campmates: ‘It was a race and Lembit won the race. I definitely tried. I fainted twice. They had to give me oxygen.
Distraught: She couldn't control herself as she recounted the terror of the trial
Mutual admiration: Lembit told Gillian he was proud of her, after he completed the task first
‘I get in there and there were two coffins in the ground and you have to get into the coffin. There was all this scurrying of something going on, so I’m aware of something up my back and all this water started coming in and I started to freak out and thought I was going to drown.
‘This sounds crazy, like I’ve got fears over everything, but I did almost drown a year-and-a-half ago.’
Last night she was at 50-1 to win the show. Bookmakers were also taking bets at 6-4 that she would leave the show in record time.
Her dramatic exit from the challenge led to predictions that a sadistic public would vote for her to take part in every Bushtucker Trial.
And that prediction was correct, as Gillian will be taking on Shaun in the next trial - School Dinners - which will see the contenders eat a three-course meal of the most disgusting jungle fare.
source: dailymail