I'm A Celebrity's Leomie Anderson reveals she signed up for the jungle to make her late father proud following his death from cancer because it was his favourite show

Published: 15:04 EST, 13 November 2026 | Updated: 15:17 EST, 13 November 2026 I’m A Celebrity’s Leomie Anderson has revealed the heartbreaking reason she signed up for the jungle – wanting to make her late father proud after he tragically died from cancer.The model, 33, shared that her decision to take part in the ITV show was particularly emotional as it had been one of her father and late uncle’s favourite programmes to watch together.Her father sadly lost his battle with cancer on Christmas Day in 2022, but Leomie revealed she knew he would have been thrilled to see her take on the jungle challenge.Speaking to the Daily Mail, she said: ‘This show was one of my dad’s and uncle’s favourite shows to watch. When the opportunity arose, I was like, OK, let me try and do it this year. It is emotional, but I’m very, very proud that I’ve been able to do it this year.‘He’s the type of person who loved the fact that I was a model, but he didn’t know half of the things that I did, not even three quarters. He didn’t know the designers, he didn’t know the magazines, but this show, he knew it through and through, so I know he’d be super proud of me,’ she added. I’m A Celebrity’s Leomie Anderson has revealed the heartbreaking reason she signed up for the jungle – wanting to make her late father proud after he tragically died from cancer Her father sadly lost his battle with cancer on Christmas Day in 2022, but Leomie revealed she knew he would have been thrilled to see her take on the jungle challengeLeomie said she is ready to open up and be vulnerable with her fellow campmates about that tough period of her life.She shared: 'I was a carer for some of my family members. It was meant to be like two weeks of my life and it ended up being nearly two years and it was just something that I wasn't really expecting and I was also going through it whilst my dad was going through his treatments and stuff like that so I'd say that was a very hard time in my life but I look back and I'm really proud of myself for being able to be there for my family and go through all of that whilst also working a lot during that period of time.'And revealing the words she believes her dad would have said as she prepared to enter the jungle, Leomie added: ‘My dad would literally just say, “Go on darling, smash it.”’‘But while her reason for signing up is deeply personal, Leomie is also looking forward to bringing some glamour to the Australian jungle.The model revealed she is hoping to create her own iconic I’m A Celebrity shower moment, admitting she has packed plenty of bikinis for her time at the famous waterfall.‘I’ve packed many a bikini for that waterfall. We’re going to be best friends. Honestly, if I could just not wear the tops and just wear my bikini, that’s kind of going to be my uniform,’ she joked.However, despite her experience walking some of the world's biggest runways, including the Victoria’s Secret catwalk, Leomie admitted that entering the jungle is an entirely different prospect.Asked whether a Victoria’s Secret show or entering the jungle is more nerve racking, she said: ‘Both of those things are incredibly nerve-wracking but I would say actually gearing up for the jungle because you don't know what to expect.‘When you're walking a VS show it is nerve-wracking but it's a walk. With this you don't know whether you're going to be jumping out of a plane, doing something crazy so I would say that this was very crazy for me.‘I definitely think people will underestimate me because people have this assumption thatmodels are vapid or don't want to get their hands dirty and this is my opportunity to show people that not just models, women in general actually should not be underestimated.’She added: ‘Let me tell you something, despite what people think about models and how we eat, I eat a lot so I am really not prepared for the rice and beans diet of the jungle but I'm going to give it a fair shot. This is why I need to collect a lot of stars.’ While her reason for signing up is deeply personal, Leomie is also looking forward to bringing some glamour to the Australian jungle