CRAIG Charles has revealed the death of his brother whilst first on I’m A Celebrity made him quit Coronation Street.
The BBC Radio 6 presenter, 61, left camp early in 2014 after Dean’s sudden death.
He played taxi driver Lloyd Mullaney on Corrie from 2005-2015.
As he returns to the show for All Stars, Craig said: “The death of my brother, and my unexpected departure as a result, did change my life.
“It made me re-evaluate things and made me ask: ‘If that had happened to me, would I be happy with what I had achieved?’
“I came up with the answer and it was ‘no’.
“I was 50 at the time, my brother was 52, I had been in Corrie for ten years and I felt in a rut.
“I was really enjoying my time in the Australian jungle and it got sadly cut short. I knew I wanted to have some new adventures after that.”
The heavy emotions around Dean’s death and having to quit camp has made it hard for Craig to watch I’m A Celebrity ever since.
He added: “Since I left, there have been years of ‘What ifs?’
“At first, I’m A Celebrity felt bittersweet after I’d left, and in the first few years I couldn’t watch the show.
“It made me sad and it opened a world of loss.
“Every year it came around, I would feel a sense of loss and a feeling of what might have been – both for my brother and for me.
“He was only 52 and he would have been 63 now, which is no age.
“But that feeling has decreased over the years, and the last few years I have been able to watch it again without feeling the pain and the grief.
“And so, when this came round, it was at the right time. I feel strong and confident enough to face it again and have a laugh!”
Craig knows his brother would be proud of him heading back to take on the all stars edition.
Viewers tonight saw the Red Dwarf legend arriving in camp and flung straight into a Bushtucker Trial scoffing ghastly grub with fellow late arrival Gemma Collins.
Craig said: “I found out when I got back for the funeral that after the first episode,
“Dean turned to his wife and said: ‘he is going to win that’.
“But sadly, Dean never woke up and so hopefully I will make him proud.
“But I’ve got nothing to offer! I am not the same person as I was.
“My fitness has fallen off a cliff and the older I get, the more scared I get of things. I was fearless then and now I am scared of heights.
“I also don’t like creepy crawlies.”
“I just want to try my best and not let my wife and kids down this second time.
“I am not expecting to win! If I do, then I will think the world has gone mad!”
