Holly Willoughby reveals she will hand back I’m A Celebrity presenting duties to pal Ant McPartlin and take kids out of school to join her on the month-long trip Down Under
The presenter says she feels a responsibility to take care of Ant's TV baby and is more scared of the Bushtucker Trials than celebs
WHEN Declan Donnelly jokingly introduced Ant McPartlin as the “gorgeous Holly Willoughby” on last year’s I’m A Celeb, nobody could have predicted the joke would become reality.
The cheeky duo were trying to poke fun at Ant’s stint in rehab.
But now, with Ant, 42, taking more time out of the limelight to focus on his recovery, Holly has found herself called to duty for real to keep his seat warm as Dec’s jungle co-host.
In an exclusive interview, Holly said: “It’s totally unexpected to do this. You didn’t really want to have to be asked to do the show, it’s a weird one.”
Having been handpicked by the pair, with whom she has been close friends for 15 years, Holly feels a responsibility to take care of Ant’s TV baby.
She said: “I’m just looking after it until he gets back. It’s lovely that he trusted me with it.
“It’s much easier if you work with somebody who is a friend. When you genuinely get on on screen, it’s going to work. It’s unsurprising.”
Since initial discussions over the summer, Ant has left Holly, 37, to find her feet ahead of the show, which starts on Sunday, November 18.
One of the first things she had to do was call her children’s head teacher, requesting permission to take them out of school to join her on the trip.
But the month-long stint Down Under will be no holiday for Harry, nine, Belle, seven, and Chester, four.
Holly, who will also be joined by her parents and her TV producer husband Dan Baldwin, said: “The children will have a tutor out there, they’ve got loads to do.
“I’ve spoken to their teachers. The kids are like, ‘What do you mean we’re not going on holiday?’.
“I’ve had to be really clear with them, they can play for a couple of hours but none of us are on holiday. We’re all doing work.
“The headmaster was amazing. If the kids couldn’t come then it would have been a completely different ball game and I would have had to have a long, hard think about it.
“I don’t think I would have been able to do my job properly if I couldn’t have seen them.”
Now, as the first episode looms, the golden girl of daytime TV admits the show’s popularity is intimidating.
She said: “It is scary. I’ve always loved the show as a viewer and that comes with a responsibility.
“I want to go in and the audience to really enjoy it.”
Nine of this year’s crop of celebrity contestants have been confirmed, including football manager Harry Redknapp, 71, and DIY telly expert Nick Knowles, 56.
And Holly is hoping they will help make the series a success.
The This Morning presenter says: “It’s an easier job in some respects because it’s the celebrities that make the show. Dec and I are just presenting it to you and it’s all the stuff that goes on in the show that makes it a good series.
“Yes, it’s going to be different obviously, but actually we’re quite a small part of what makes the show, so I’m not too worried.”
It will be the first time since the reality series began 16 years ago that Ant will be on the other side of the world from the action.
Asked if she thinks he will be watching at home, Holly says: “I’d imagine so. I have no idea, but he probably will.”
Holly has huge TV appeal. She is likeable, self-deprecating and approachable. But she knows she has to sharpen up her bedside manner for the jungle.
In a bid to coax the contestants into taking on the stomach-churning Bushtucker trials, Holly will be channelling her scolding skills — usually reserved for her children.
She said: “I’m going to have to toughen up other-wise if I say to contestants, ‘Don’t worry, you don’t have to do this trial if you don’t want to’, it’s obviously going to be a disaster.
“You’ll have all these producers working on these brilliant trials and I’ll be going, ‘No, it’s fine if you really don’t want to do it you don’t have to’. So I’ve got to remember to get my ‘mum head’ on and be firm.”
The new presenting partnership, who will be branded as Dec and Holly, have spent the last few weeks building up their chemistry with practice read-throughs.
Holly said: “I’m just getting used to how the scripts run. So it was a script for a fake show.
“There’s just a lot to get my head around. I’ve been doing This Morning for nine years and there’s such a rhythm to it.
“And to suddenly do something that’s already got its own pattern and is already established, it’s going to take a bit of getting used to.”
While viewers haven’t seen Dec and Holly on screen together — bar in one old sketch on Saturday Morning kids’ show SMTV — the pair are great pals.
Ant and Dec showed Holly the ropes in kids’ TV presenting, and in recent years they have all holidayed together.
Dec has been going out of his way to make Holly feel at home.
She said: “He’s given me lots of practical tips about sleep and wearing sensible shoes.
“He’s told me to be myself and just have fun and not to worry about it too much.”
In her day job on This Morning, Holly and co-host Phillip Schofield are renowned for descending into fits of giggles live on air.
But now, with a hilarious new sidekick in Dec, Holly admits that her tendency for hysterical laughter could be a problem.
She said: “Dec is so brilliant, he makes you laugh so much when you see him on screen anyway, so it’s like having a front-row seat, so I just start laughing.
“I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t do this’. It’s just his face and he’s just doing that brilliant thing that he does.
“He’s just very, very funny, so I do worry because I’ve got to try and keep it together, but I’m just going to get the giggles.”
Another problem for Holly is she is terrified of the creepy crawlies found on the show.
Holly said: “I hope I’m not going to be worse than the contestants. I’m not brilliant with that sort of stuff. I’ve never watched one of the eating trials. I’ve only seen bits from hiding behind a cushion.
It makes me feel sick.
“I’m hoping that when you’re there you get used to it. Dec said you get used to it really quickly.
“I’m OK looking at a spider but only if it’s behind a cage. But it’s the uninvited guest that lands on you I’m not very good with.
“But I’m not doing the trials so it’s fine. I’ve got to just remember that I’ll only be there watching it.
“I’ve heard that when you walk to the where the trials are filmed, the floor is moving because there are so many bugs.
“I didn’t like that very much. I was like, ‘Please can you keep that kind of information to yourself’.”
This year's line up
SOME of them will be instantly recognisable while others may leave you scratching your head.
Harry Redknapp, 71
Manager who took Portsmouth to FA Cup glory in 2008. Transfer window wheeler-dealer.
Odds: 9/1
Nick Knowles, 56
Handyman on BBC1’s DIY SOS. A vegan – so doing Bushtucker Trials could be tricky.
Odds: 14/1
James McVey, 24
Guitarist in The Vamps. Has been dating model Kirstie Brittain since 2011.
Odds: 10/1
Fleur East, 31
Pop singer. Second on X Factor in 2014. Axed from Simon Cowell’s Syco record label last year.
Odds: 7/1
Emily Atack, 28
Inbetweeners’ beauty Charlotte Hinchcliffe. Took part in 2010’s Dancing On Ice.
Odds: 10/1
Sair Khan, 30
Was a receptionist until 2014 when she landed the part of Alya Nazir in Coronation Street.
Odds: 6/1
Anne Hegerty, 60
The Governess on ITV’s The Chase. Diagnosed with high-functioning autism in 2005.
Odds: 16/1
Rita Simons, 41
Was Roxy Mitchell in EastEnders. Suffers from OCD and insomnia. Lord Sugar’s niece.
Odds: 12/1
Malique Thompson-Dwyer, 20
Actor plays Hollyoaks’ Prince McQueen. Won a 2018 British Soap Award.
Odds: 14/1
Mystery celebrity
Another star will appear on launch night – but show producers are keeping their identity secret.
- GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk