Anne Hegerty’s family have broken their silence after fans claimed that the I’m a Celeb star was “exploited” during a Bushtucker Trial.
The 60-year-old was visibly upset during the first Bushtucker Trial during the week and tapped out of the challenge after having slime and bugs dumped over her head.
Anne’s family have now spoken out about the distressing scenes, as her 87-year-old uncle told MailOnline: “I know she will find it difficult, but we are all rooting for her.”
“It is very much out of her comfort zone and to be honest I am surprised that she agreed to go on the show. We do wish her well, but given what I have heard it could all be a bit too much for her. It will be very hard and I think we have seen that already. I really do hope she will be okay.”
Anne’s brother also broke his silence about the Bushtucker Trial on social media, as he retweeted a message of support for his sister.
Meanwhile, fellow The Chase star, Shaun Wallace, also showed his support for his co-star, as he appeared on ITV’s Lorraine and said: “Anne’s normally good under the timed pressure, but she’s out of her comfort zone in this moment in time, but she’s doing really well and I’m really proud of her.”
Anne already has a huge following since she entered the jungle, as many have praised the television star, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, for raising awareness for autism.
“We’ve loved seeing the outpouring of support for Anne Hegerty. We hope this will be the start of better representation of autistic women in the media and help everyone understand the diversity of autism,” Carol Povey, the Director of the National Autistic Society’s Centre for Autism, told MailOnline.
