Jason Gardiner: 'Sand fly left me at death's door'

Jason Gardiner has spoken of his recent brush with death after being bitten by a sand fly while visiting Belize.

The Dancing on Ice judge was filming a documentary in the country when the blood-sucking fly laid eggs in his leg, leaving his skin "bubbling and exploding".

Gardiner was admitted to a hospital in Belize before being flown back to a medical facility in London, according to The Sun.

"It was an absolutely horrible experience," he recalled. "My skin was literally bubbling and exploding.

"To go to a clinic for tropical diseases and then be rushed into an emergency hospital was very scary, but thank God I'm on the mend now."

"Jason was in agony. His leg just blew up like an airship and he couldn't walk," a friend added. "He genuinely thought he was at death's door.

"He knew he'd been bitten but couldn't believe how much it swelled up. But on closer inspection it was revealed that this fly had laid eggs in his leg too. Talk about disgusting."

Gardiner underwent a £20,000 hair transplant earlier this year after feeling "suffocated" by his baldness.