Dec (R) had some heartwarming words for his new co-star (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’s newest star has revealed a sweet message from Declan Donnelly ahead of her huge career move.
Kemi Rodgers has joined stars of the beloved ITV programme Sam Thompson and Joel Dommett in presenting a spin-off programme, Unpacked, four years after companion show Extra Camp was axed.
The Capital radio presenter and DJ, who has also appeared on Big Brother: Late and Live, has flown to the other side of the world for her new role, and become a firm favourite with viewers for her daily gossip on all the jungle antics.
Kemi did however reveal to Metro that she felt ‘overwhelmed’ at first, but received a heartwarming piece of advice from one of the franchise’s longest-serving presenters, Dec.
Referring to any slip-ups or live blunders that may occur, she shared that her experience in radio has proven to be a huge asset, saying: ‘You just have to laugh and move on, I think radio is the best thing for that, because it always goes t*ts up!
‘And years ago, I would have panicked, like “Oh my god, oh my god, I’m sorry,” [now] you just have to laugh and move on.’
Kemi Rodgers is the new host of Unpacked (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
The radio star admitted she was ‘overwhelmed’ at first (Picture: Matt Crossick/Global/Shutterstock)
She went on: ‘And actually, before we started, Dec gave me some really, really good advice. He said, “If you think you had a bit of a bad show or you think you could have done that one better or that it didn’t go well, the good thing about this show is that you’ve got another one tomorrow, there’s another one coming.” So he’s like, try not to think about it too much, and don’t stress if it goes wrong.
‘To get that from someone who one of the contestants called the leader of the show, I feel like it was just really lovely, because obviously you want to do such a good job and me being so new to TV and having one of the biggest faces being like, “Hey, it’s fine, it’s great that you’re here, just do the best you can.” It’s just really lovely.’
Talking about hosting Unpacked with Sam and Joel, she went on to say that, despite the jet-lag and working between 2am and 10am in Australia, it’s been ‘lovely’.
‘We have a great team, Joel and Sam are great, and I just think it’s such a massive show, so much drama, and one thing I’m realizing actually in the last few days, is that I could do a two-hour show, there’s so much to say.’
Kemi is joining Sam Thompson and Joel Dommett as I’m A Celebrity’s companion show returns (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
She went on: ‘We’ve become like a little friendship group, we’re hanging out at the pool every day, we’re going to the supermarket together, you always think that you’re going to get along with your co-stars but you’ll probably spend most of your spare time to yourself, but genuinely, we’ve spent so much time together, and we’re just not getting bored, which is so lovely, because it’s like we’ve actually found friends here.
‘We’ve even got a little group chat, we send pictures in there. We’re chatting all the time, even when we’re not on camera, so I couldn’t ask for a better team.’
Despite her close bond to Sam, who was crowned King of the Jungle just last year, and Joel, who was runner-up to Scarlett Moffatt in the 2016 series, Kemi hasn’t yet felt any pressure to follow in their footsteps and head into the jungle.
She said: ‘The pressure hasn’t started yet, but starting this show and being in the jungle, having bugs landing on me, and trying to deal with the cockroaches that are just around the set, it’s making me more scared than I think I ever would’ve been before.’
She jokingly added that were she ever to take part in Ant and Dec’s bushtucker trials she would need ‘psychotherapy first to get over my fears, because I’m such a scaredy cat’.
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She went on: ‘It’s the bugs for me, it’s mainly spiders, I could never. When I saw GK Barry doing her bushtucker trial, genuinely, that would have been the point where I’d have been, like, “I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here”, when I only got two stars.
‘I think that is the worst thing, you kind of don’t mind all the critters, they’re not nice but that’s part and parcel of the show, you’re dealing with a bucket of cockroaches on the head, not nice but I could get through it with a bit of mindfulness, but no it’s the spiders for me.
‘That being said, everyone has said it’s the best thing they’ve ever done in their lives, everyone who comes out the jungle, no matter how hard the trials are, they absolutely love it and that’s making me think there’s obviously something super special about it, so it’s a maybe…’
Were she to go in, Kemi has even considered who her dream campmates would consist of, and who would be a firm no.
Kemi is still not convinced about heading into the jungle herself (Picture: Dave Benett/WireImage)
This year’s line-up includes GK Barry, Loose Women star Jane Moore, McFly’s Danny Jones, N-Dubz singer Tulisa, soap star Alan Halsall, and boxing legend Barry McGuigan.
Coleen Rooney, Melvin Odoom, Strictly Come Dancing star Oti Mabuse and Dean McCullough complete the line-up, but there’s one I’m A Celebrity alum that Kemi would have her eye on.
‘You want someone entertaining, I know it’s weird but I want Gemma Collins in there because I think she’s going to be a bit entertaining… maybe not get the stars, so maybe I should have thought more practically about this.
‘Danny from McFly, he’s got all the stars already, so just from a food perspective you want someone like that, someone to keep you entertained and someone to keep you fed, those are my two provisions.’
On the other hand, she added: ‘And a politician is someone I maybe wouldn’t want in the jungle, I guess it depends who it is, but I don’t think I would have done too well with Nigel Farage in the jungle.
‘I didn’t go in there with him or get to know him as a person, but off the bat, if I had a choice with or without I’d go without.’
Kemi is bringing the group chat to our screens with a much-needed I’m A Celebrity debrief every night after the episodes (Picture: Doug Peters/EMPICS Entertainment)
For now though, Kemi is sticking to hosting Unpacked without having to actually camp in the jungle.
The programme returned after Extra Camp ended in 2020, which saw a presenting line-up of the likes of Joe Swash, Matt and Emma Willis, Laura Whitmore, Vicky Pattinson, and Scarlett and Joel.
Talking about bringing the show back, Kemi said: ‘I was always thinking whether this would be [the same show] with a new name, but actually it does feel like a new show. And Joel, who’s obviously hosted Extra Camp before, has really noticed the difference between the old shows and this.’
She went on: ‘With the old shows, there was always so much going on, it was like trials and skits and wacky stuff but we are bringing the group chat to life, when you’re watching it and going on social media or Twitter… we are bringing that conversation to screens.
‘I think that’s what people want, like immediately after you see stuff and you’re like, oh my god, I need to be debrief with someone, and you can debrief with us. That’s exactly what we’re here for.’
I’m A Celebrity continues tonight at 9pm on ITV1 with Unpacked airing immediately after on ITV2.
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