Paul Burrell, 64, reveals filming I'm A Celebrity All Stars 'literally saved my ... trends now
Paul Burrell has admitted I'm A Celebrity All Stars 'literally saved my life' thanks to health tests before heading off to film the show in South Africa which later revealed he had cancer.
Former royal butler Paul, 64, who worked beside and was a confidante of Diana, Princess of Wales, for ten years until her death in 1997, was diagnosed with the disease last summer.
Alongside eight other celebrities, Paul was in Kruger National Park in north-eastern South Africa, one of Africa’s largest game reserves to film for the first ever I'm A Celebrity series featuring previous stars of the jungle.
But after coming home to the UK, Paul was handed some heartbreaking news which followed up on some health checks taken before his trip.
Speaking to Lorraine on Monday morning, Paul said he had routine health tests before taking part in the show to give him the all clear, but doctors showed concern about raised prostate-specific antigen levels.
Support: Paul Burrell has admitted I'm A Celebrity All Stars 'literally saved my life' thanks to health tests before heading off to film the show in South Africa which later revealed he had cancer
Candid: Alongside eight other celebrities, Paul was in Kruger National Park in northeastern South Africa, one of Africa’s largest game reserves to film for the first ever I'm A Celebrity series featuring previous stars of the jungle
He spoke to his GP about the results to enquire about his ability to still take part in the show but was told he was fine to wait until returning home to investigate the issue further.
He joked with Lorraine Kelly about the last time he was on the show, admitting it was 20 years prior when he was 'a lot thinner, a lot younger' and married with kids.
Paul went on to say: 'I'm A Celebrity literally saved my life, because I went for the medical, they found a raised PSA level.
'I went to my GP and I said to him, "Am I still able to do the show?"
'And he said "Look, this can wait until you get back, and when you get back we'll continue with the investigations."
'So when I got back, then I had an MRI scan, then I had biopsy, then they told me they had cancer.'
Paul was the runner-up of the fourth series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2004.
He later said that he is 'so grateful' to ITV for picking him to take part in the jungle, and described how he is 'emotional' but is looking forward to the end of his radio therapy sessions, to which he has five left.
Throwback: Paul was the runner-up of the fourth series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2004
Chat: But after coming home to the UK, Paul was handed some heartbreaking news which followed up on some health checks taken before his trip
Open: Speaking to Lorraine on Monday morning, Paul said he had routine health tests before taking part in the show to give him the all clear, but doctors showed concern about raised prostate-specific antigen levels
'I would still be sat here today not knowing I had cancer growing inside of me. So my journey is a happy one,' Paul gushed.
'It's a rollercoaster of emotions and you just don’t know what’s going to happen to you next.
'And combining that with hormone therapy, which doesn’t help, I get hot sweats and I’m very emotional and very tired, so it's a tough experience to go through but I'm getting through it.'
Paul then brought viewers along to the hospital as he began his cancer treatment. Seen leaving the home he shares with husband Graham Cooper, Paul said, 'It's almost six o'clock in the morning.
'It's time for me to go to hospital to have my operation. Coop can't come with me because of the radiation. And so I'm gonna do this bit by myself.'
Speaking from The Christie Hospital in Manchester, the former Royal butler later added, “I'm really nervous about this. I know it's like going to the dentist,
