I’m A Celebrity star shares ‘painful’ hidden health battle she’s had all her life

One star of ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! has opened up about living with a health condition since infancy

One memorable star of TV reality show I’m A Celebrity has revealed a painful health condition she’s battled since birth.

TV nutritionaist Gillian McKeith – who has done two stints in the ITV jungle show – disclosed she’s been living with scoliosis her entire life. The broadcaster has had scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, since infancy, although the condition remained undetected for many years.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Star in partnership with Casino.org, Gillian said: “I have scoliosis, a curvature of the spine that I’ve had since I was a baby. I must’ve been born with it, though it wasn’t diagnosed until much later in life. No one really noticed it for years.”

She described how whilst the condition has been ever-present, its effects have varied over the years, reports the Daily Star.

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“It can be painful at times, and honestly, I’m probably in some level of pain every day, but I’ve become so used to it that I hardly notice anymore,” she confessed.

“The more I move, the less it bothers me.”

Physical activity, she explained, has served as both a management strategy and source of strength for her.

Gillian shared that she has also experimented with various therapeutic methods to control the condition, including Rolfing, which is a kind of deep tissue therapy that helps break up scar tissue in the muscles around the spine.

The TV star said that her main goal was to learn how to manage her scoliosis herself, without always having to reply on other people to help her with it.

Gillian, who is the former host of Channel 4 programme You Are What You Eat, explained that the breakthrough arrived following an especially challenging spell.

“There was a time when I was in constant pain, probably because I was sitting too much and not exercising enough,” she said.

Since then, Gillian has dedicated herself to living a lifestyle that combines physical exercise with nutritional self-care.

I’m a Celebrity airs on ITV.