Photographer Lady Brocket underwent preventative double mastectomy like Angelina Jolie

Lord Brocket and his wife Harriet Brocket, who appear in this week's Hello! Magazine. (PA)

The wife of past I'm A Celebrity contestant Lord Brocket has revealed she has undergone a double mastectomy like Angelina Jolie.

Harriet Brocket has undergone the surgery at the age of 38 after being diagnosed with breast cancer in February.

The photographer, known formally as Lady Brocket, spoke about the procedure in an interview with Hello! magazine in an effort to encourage more women to check themselves regularly.

She said: "I feel very lucky to have had an early diagnosis and to have been able to make the right choice to give me the best chance of staying alive for my children."

Her husband Lord Brocket was a contestant on the ITV show, set in the Australian jungle, in 2004, outlasting contestants such as John Lydon and Katie Price but eliminated on the penultimate day.

The mother-of-two said she opted for the double mastectomy within a week of diagnosis, facing a seven-hour operation to remove her breasts.

"The only thing that matters is to be around for my little ones," she said.

Lady Brocket was back home after five days, to spend time with daughters Amelia, three, and one-year-old Iona.

"Of course your life flashes before your eyes when you hear you have cancer. But you can't think about the what-ifs because you torture yourself," she said.

"It's a very brave decision to have your breasts removed, but it's not the end of the world which it could be if you don't have them checked out.

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"My strong message is please go and get checked, and do it regularly, it might save your life."

Jolie underwent surgery earlier this year and wrote about it in the New York Times last month. She made her first public appearance at the weekend, attending the premiere of her partner Brad Pitt's film Word War Z in London on Sunday.

The full interview is in the new edition of Hello! magazine which is out now.

PA