‘The Chase’ regular Jenny Ryan has voiced her support for her co-star Anne Hegerty, following her first night in the ‘I’m A Celebrity’ jungle.
Jenny has posted a string of tweets praising Anne, who had a tough first night in camp after a particularly exhausting day, noting that her motivating for taking part in the show was to show viewers who also live with the condition that “anything is possible”.
Tweeting during Anne’s tearful moment in Sunday night’s show, Jenny wrote: “I hope everybody watching at home appreciates just how far [Anne] is going outside of her comfort zone. I’m proud of her for being so incredibly brave and challenging herself.”
When one critic on social media responded to Jenny’s tweet with a comment that Anne put herself forward for the show and was “getting well paid”, The Vixen (as she’s nicknamed on ‘The Chase’) continued: “Anne has Asperger’s Syndrome which has a positive benefit on her quizzing ability but also means that a lot of things that us Neurotypicals don’t think twice about are incredibly difficult and stressful for her.”
She added: “It’s so much more of a challenge for the Governess than you presume.”
Before arriving in camp, Anne discussed how she thought her condition would affect her time on ‘I’m A Celebrity’, noting: “I do respond well to structure [and] I think it will be quite structured in there… But being surrounded by people I can’t get away from or those who talk all the time can be a source of stress.”
After a strenuous first day, in which she took part in the first trial of the series, Anne admitted she was close to throwing in the towel, but decided against it thanks to receiving some words of comfort from her campmates.
‘I’m A Celebrity’ airs every night on ITV.