Carol Vorderman says that she’s lucky to be alive after death-defying I’m A Celeb trial that nearly killed her

I’m A Celebrity star Carol Vorderman nearly DIED while filming a trial in the South Africa special of the ITV1 show.

The former Countdown presenter, 62, returned to the camp for this year’s special series after coming eighth in the jungle in 2016.

And in an exclusive interview with TV Mag, she admitted she was horrified by how dangerous the tasks are – so much so that she feared she wouldn’t survive.

She said: “Some of the trials are: ‘HOLY CRAP! How did I live?!’

“I’m not exaggerating. There was one trial that petrified me. And I’m not frightened of anything. I don’t think I’ve ever been as scared in my life.”

Carol said she thought her previous experience on the show would mean she could cope, but she was wrong.

She said: “It’s fiercely hot in there, all the time – much hotter than the Australian camp.

“And the buggers took what we’d call a trial – I was thinking: ‘I can cope with that because I’ve done it before’ – and put it on speed. Everyone will love watching it. It was brutal.”

The show was filmed in Krugar National Park at the end of last year, and Carol was joined by other former campmates including Amir Khan, Helen Flanagan and Paul Burrell.

As it’s all been filmed already, there is no viewer vote, so the celebrities are up against each other to stay in the camp.

Carol said: “It’s live or die. There were some: ‘Oh my God, this is going to go viral!’ moments.”

I’m A Celebrity… South Africa starts on Monday at 9pm on ITV1. TV Mag is free inside The Sun every Saturday.