Ben Shephard was "panicking" during Kate Garraway’s first ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ appearance.
The ‘Good Morning Britain’ presenter convinced his co-star to head to the jungle for ITV’s annual reality show, but he had second thoughts about his pushiness when the 52-year-old star had to walk the plank 334 feet above the ground in the launch episode.
Appearing alongside Kate on ‘Loose Women’ on Tuesday (21.01.20), he said: "Kate likes to discuss things in great detail a lot, and when eventually she agreed, I was really excited for her.
"But then it actually happens, and it’s a different thing. That first challenge… I was sitting at home shaking, going ‘I can’t believe I convince her to do this’. I was really panicking."
It turns out Ben, 45, had actually been trying to get Kate to sign up for the reality show for "seven years", even if she initially thought the idea was "ridiculous".
She admitted: "He was the one that talked me into doing it. Seven years ago he said ‘You should do the jungle’, and I said ‘Don’t be ridiculous’. It’s been a relentless seven year campaign."
Despite enjoying her time in the jungle, Kate – who was the ninth star to be eliminated just one day before Jacqueline Jossa won in the grand final – suggested she wouldn’t want to go back in the future, admitting her mind went "numb" during the adrenaline-fuelled Bucktucker Trials.
She added: "I can’t believe I did it! It’s almost like your brain goes a bit numb. Everyone said, ‘Would you do it again?’ Are you kidding me?! I can’t believe I did it the first time!"
Ben Shephard panicked during Kate Garraway’s I’m A Celebrity entrance
