Carol Vorderman: Who is the I’m a Celebrity South Africa star?

Former ‘Countdown’ co-host is back in the jungle

I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! is back for its first-ever All-Stars series, with a host of fan-favourite campmates in the jungle.

Filmed last year, the all-stars series sees the former contestants settling into camp South Africa – rather than the usual Australian location – for a series that promises to be “even bigger and tougher” than ever.

Among the line-up of returning contestants is Carol Vorderman, the former Countdown co-host and TV personality.

The 62-year-old first appeared on the 16th series of I’m a Celebrity in 2016 alongside Scarlett Moffatt and Joel Dommett. She came in eighth place.

Starting off her career on Countdown in 1982, Vorderman went on to work as a presenter on other shows and as a newspaper columnist.

In her personal life, Vorderman is not currently in a relationship, having been married twice previously to navy officer Christopher Mather in 1985 and management consultant Patrick King in 1990.

Vorderman has two adult children with King, Katie and Cameron, with the couple separating in 2000.

She also had a six-year relationship with fellow presenter Des Kelly in the Noughties.

Vorderman first appeared on the show in 2016 (Getty Images)

In 2000, she was awarded an MBE for services to broadcasting. She has released 10 books on the topics of maths and weight loss.

A frequent guest during political discussions on ITV’s daytime show, Vorderman has become known in recent years for her strong political stances.

In 2009, she led a Conservative task force investigating the way maths was being taught in schools.

Earlier this month, she called out Tory politicians and councillors who hide their political affiliation on social media, collating a long list to be shared publicly.

The cast of ‘I’m a Celebrity’ (ITV)

“Of the last four Tory prime ministers ONLY Rishi Sunak mentions that he is Conservative,” she wrote. “Liz Truss – no mention of Conservative. Boris Johnson – no mention of Conservative. Theresa May – no mention of Conservative. How ashamed of their party are they?”

Speaking ahead of the series, Vorderman said that her initial time in the jungle “changed me a lot” and she was looking forward to her return.

“It made me realise that I was missing many things I loved and within a short space of time after leaving the camp, I bought a little house in West Wales,” she said. “I love Wales and I love being out at night. I’ve got a converted van and I live a bit of a hippie life! I go paddle boarding all the time now.

“You get to a point in life where you think everything is all a bonus. You can’t say, ‘I will do that in 20 years time.’ It made me realise that you need to live in the now… I loved everything about I’m a Celebrity.”

I’m a Celebrity… South Africa airs weeknights at 9pm on ITV.