contestants

Name: Danniella Westbrook
Age: 29
Celebrity supporters: Barbara Windsor, Nell McAndrew, Denise Van Outen
Special skills: talking!

What tips did you pick up from watching the series?
"I think Nell handled things really well last time round. She did the right thing by not reacting in the heated situations. But I am very different. I have a tendency to shout and react on impulse. I’ll probably end up punching someone! I am fiery, and that is what I’m worried about, I will open my mouth at the wrong time. If someone gets on my nerves I will tell them!"

Do you think the local wildlife will pose a problem for you?
"I fed a fully grown tiger recently at an animal park …I just did it because I was there with the kids and they asked me if I wanted to. It’s a bit scary when the tiger comes up to you, but it was great. I hate rats, I literally pass out if I see one - I have a proper seizure, I have a fit. Snakes are not so bad, spiders I don’t like. Worse than hairy spiders though are hairy men. I don’t like hairy men…I hope there are none of those in the jungle!"

How will you cope being apart from your loved ones?
"Since I have been clean this will be the longest I’ll ever have been apart from my family. I’ve never been apart from my little girl, ever. Only for a night, but never for a week or two weeks at a time. It will be hard but I will just keep busy because they wouldn’t want me to get upset."

What do you friends think about you doing the show?
"Michael [Grecco] thinks I can win it but Denise Van Outen says I’m off my head! One of my other friends [Anthony Mortimer from East 17] couldn’t believe I was taking part. He says I’m far too much of a spoilt brat. He’s probably right! I am spoilt. My husband spoils me rotten. The thing is if it gets too much for me I will walk off. I’m not worried about that, if I don’t like it I will walk out."

What are you looking forward to the most?
"I’m most looking forward to the long evenings and discussions around the campfire. I think discussion wise, my therapy will help me but I don’t think anything can really prepare you for the jungle. That’s why I am not anticipating anything because I won’t know what it is like until I get there. It’s going to be like nothing you have ever done before."

How do you expect the public will perceive you?
"I’m a totally different person now to when I was taking drugs, so I hope people back home recognise this – I think they will. I think my tabloid persona has turned around in the last year because people can see that I am clean and sober and they quite respect that now. They know it hasn’t been an easy road for me. What will be will be. You have got to take it on the chin, every celebrity is the same."