ITVJamie Lynn Spears has said she will challenge misconceptions about herself and “show the real me” when she enters the I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! jungle.
The sister of superstar Britney, Spears is one of 10 contestants it has been announced will be taking part in this year’s series of the ITV1 reality programme.
Speaking about public perceptions, the actress, 32, said: “There is literally every misconception you can have on a person about me, so I don’t take any of it seriously.
“But I do think going on I’m A Celebrity will be a nice way for people to see the real me.
“This is an opportunity to be myself and do something really cool and have some awesome experiences in the meantime.”
The reality TV programme involves celebrity contestants taking part in challenges where they come face-to-face with creepy crawlies and animals, typically including rats and snakes.
Spears added: “I think my best quality is the fact that it takes a lot to hurt my feelings.
“Unless you are my children or my immediate family, nothing is going to hurt me. I can take a lot of shit and it doesn’t get me down, so I really think it’s a good quality to have in a place where a lot of stuff is thrown at you!”
The Zoey 101 actress, who revealed that she is afraid of snakes and rats, said: “Everything I have seen I have been afraid of. Absolutely every one of these trials I am dreading.
“I haven’t looked at any of them and thought, ‘Oh cool, I could do that one’.
“This is going to be terrifying.”
Before Spears joined the programme, she said she had to get the go-ahead from her family members.
“When they (the show) approached me, the first thing I had to do was talk it over with my family and my kids to make sure they were OK about me being gone for this amount of time,” she said.
“Once I got the all-clear from everybody, I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s go’.
“I think it is so far out of my comfort zone and this year with SAG (the actors’ union) being on strike, I have said ‘yes’ to a lot of unscripted projects.
“I am really enjoying throwing myself into these experiences.”
Speaking about what her two daughters think of her entering the jungle, she added: “My oldest daughter is like, ‘OMG I can’t wait to see you do these trials and laugh at you’.
“But she also said: ‘I’m really proud of you for doing something for yourself’.
“This will be the longest I have ever been apart from my children and the furthest.
“But they are going to come over to Australia and it will be a wonderful reunion when I come out.”
American actress Spears played the lead role in 2005 children’s sitcom Zoey 101 and recently appeared on Dancing With The Stars in the US.
She has been embroiled in controversy over the conservatorship that controlled her sister’s life for years and in Britney’s recently released memoir The Woman In Me, she details their fractured relationship and shares how the conservatorship “stripped” her of her womanhood.
The complex legal arrangement, typically reserved for people unable to make their own decisions, was in place for over 13 years before it was terminated by a judge in Los Angeles in November 2021.
Celebrities billed for the upcoming ITV reality series include former UK Independence Party (Ukip) leader Nigel Farage, reality star Sam Thompson, This Morning host Josie Gibson, food critic Grace Dent and former EastEnders star Danielle Harold.
I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! starts on Monday November 19 at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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