Famed Scottish interior designer Justin Ryan doesn’t want to eat “a crocodile anus or a pig scrotum” on I’m A Celebrity, but says he will bravely do it if such a Bushtucker Trial provides a “chance of feeding the rest of the camp”.
Justin is going on the show with long-term partner Colin McAllister, the pair celebrating their 25th anniversary next year, and is apparently not worried about the prospect of feasting on bugs and other edible nasties.
He said: “I am not remotely bothered about that. I will put anything in my mouth. I don’t want to eat a crocodile anus or a pig scrotum, no thank you, but I will do it. I want to make sure that we have the chance of feeding the rest of the camp.”
Justin says his phobias are creepy-crawlies and “anything that bites”, and his celebrity supporters include Anna Ryder Richardson, Linda Barker, Christopher Biggins and Jennie Bond.
Rather than resign himself to basic conditions, he and partner Colin McAllister will be going all-out to spruce up the camp with some unusual design innovations. Isn’t that cheating?
Justin admitted: “We’re going to do absolutely everything in our power to make ourselves and our jungle camp-mates as comfortable as possible. We are going to split the designer atom to make sure that this is a fun experience for everybody.
“I imagine we’ll be weaving all types of basket work, creating gorgeous throws and blankets from grass and special reeds, and I shall be diving into the lagoon and plucking out cuttlefish and making baskets from them as well as table ornaments. I shall be catching wild bees and using of every drop of honey and wax to make scented candles, and I’ll be making the jungle smell, look and taste that little bit more gorgeous.”
He also admitted the idea of camping is an alien experience. “My idea of camping is a four star hotel. Anything below five star deluxe is roughing it so being in the jungle is going to be very hard.
“I think it’s got to be an advantage for me to have Colin, someone I can go to. However, that could backfire as I don’t know what he and I will do when we get in there. We’re going to find out new sides of each other that we didn’t know existed. Are we going to have arguments? Are people going to have to stop us arguing? Who knows? We simply don’t know.”
Justin is also hoping the jungle experience will help him to discover more about himself: “I hope I don’t find out anything I don’t like. I am looking forward to finding out if I can detach from the outside world. I live my life attached to my phone, a laptop, a blackberry – I am attached to communications at all times. I am looking forward to taking myself out of that and being at one with nature.”
So what won’t he like in the camp? Colin says that he has no time for egotistical celebs.
He admitted: “I don’t like people who are selfish, people who are only interested in their own achievements, I love team players. For us it’s all about team work, it’s all about coming together and hopefully achieving as much as we possibly can as part of a team.
“I’m going to work my fingers to the bone and make sure that I’m part of a team that works really hard. I won’t have time for any slackers whatsoever, so if there’s a really famous sporting celebrity in there and they’re completely lazy or only interested in achieving self gain, then they’re the kind of people I’m going to push to one side. In my world there’s no time for passengers, only drivers.”
He added: “There’s no time for grumbling, unless there’s something seriously wrong with you or your world is really falling apart. But if you’re going to grumble because your shirt’s too tight or you don’t have lipstick or your silicone boobs have gone flat in the heat then we’re going to be having big problems. If, however, there’s somebody utterly fantastic who happens to be an old page three model from the Seventies who wants to make an effort, to have fun and be part of a team – best friend.”
