Paul Burrell is much more prepared heading into the jungle this time (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
Paul Burrell is not only ready to head back into the jungle for I’m A Celebrity… South Africa but he’s put himself through intense training to prepare.
So much that he can’t wait to show off his shirtless body – even standing next to boxer Amir Khan.
The former royal butler, 64, is taking on the bushtucker trials once again, alongside the likes of Carol Vorderman, Phil Tufnell and Shaun Ryder for a special edition of I’m A Celebrity which was recorded in South Africa in 2022.
He previously completed the Aussie jungle in 2004, but this time, he’s far more prepared.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk and other press ahead of the series airing, Paul said: ‘I thought to myself, “This is going to be tougher this time.”
‘I am an older man, I’m 64. I was the second oldest in the jungle, Janice [Dickinson] was just a tiny bit older than me.
He previously completed the Aussie jungle in 2004 (Picture: Brian Cassey/REX/Shutterstock)
The celebrities are heading back into the jungle (Picture: ITV)
‘I thought, I’m not going to be able to have the energy that I had last time, so I went to the gym.’
He continued: ‘I did train for this because I knew what was ahead of me.
‘So I got my personal trainer to put me through the ordeal of survival in the gym and he did a great job, which you will see.
‘I’m very proud of being a 64-year-old man and able to take my shirt off in the middle of the jungle clearing next to Amir Khan.
He’s ready to be shirtless next to boxer Amir Khan (Picture: Action Images via Reuters)
‘Just wait and see!’
Paul added that he’s doing it for ‘gay men’ and ‘married men who don’t know they’re gay yet’.
The father-of-two came out as gay in 2017 after splitting from his wife of 32 years in 2016. He’s now married to Graham Cooper, a cooperate lawyer he met back in 2007.
Paul told us: ‘I did it for 64-year-old men, I did it for gay men, I did it for married men who don’t know they’re gay yet. I did it for all of those people.
‘It was going to be tough. I knew the trials were going to be tougher.’
‘I did it for married men who don’t know they’re gay yet. I did it for all of those people’ (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Paul, who completed his cancer radiotherapy treatment earlier this month and actually credits I’m A Celebrity for ‘saving his life’ after the medical checks found his cancer early on, was filming in South Africa when Queen Elizabeth II died, aged 96.
At the time, he was given the choice to return home, but decided to stay on.
Asked if he watched the coverage when he did return from South Africa, Paul told Lorraine Kelly on Friday: ‘I did. But you know, whilst I was there in South Africa, the ITV team said, “Do you wanna go home Paul? You can go home if you want to?”
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‘I said, “Listen, I’m better here. This is my sanctuary right now. If I go back home, it’ll be a circus and I’ll be sucked into that world. So let me stay here with the other celebrities, and I’ll share my grief with them.” Because it was their Queen too!’
He described the Queen as his ‘surrogate mother’, reflecting on how he joined the Palace staff at just 18.
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‘I went to Buckingham Palace when I was 18 years old, she became my surrogate mother. I know that’s difficult for people to understand, but living with someone in close proximity for 11 years, you do begin to love them,’ he said.
‘And I loved the Queen. She was a wonderful, wonderful lady. For me, she influenced my life, she shaped me – along with Diana later. They made me the man I am today. I have great respect and admiration for our late Queen.’
I’m A Celebrity… South Africa starts Monday at 9pm and all week on ITV1 and ITVX.
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Paul went into the jungle incredibly prepared.