After leaving the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here jungle, Myles Stephenson revealed to Ant and Dec that he almost didn’t take part in the show because he grandmother was ill, and debated whether or not he should fly out to Australia for four weeks.
The Rak-Su star, 28, revealed that the first thing he did when he landed back in the UK was go to the hospital to see his nan, after knowing she would hold on until she saw all of her grandchildren.
Myles told Metro.co.uk: ‘I’ve had the most hectic 48 hours of my life probably. When I came out [of the jungle] I told Ant and Dec that my nan is ill and that before I went in, I wasn’t going to do the show.
‘I had WiFi on the plane yesterday and my dad messaged me saying, “Your nan’s not doing too well, you need to go and see her.” So when I landed yesterday at 11am, I went straight to the hospital and saw her.’
He revealed that doctors had phoned to say that he should come in to see her if he had anything he wanted to say to his beloved grandmother: ‘I went to my mum’s house and at about 11.30 my aunt came in and said “the doctors called and if you’ve got any last words to say to your nan, come in now”.
‘So I headed straight back to the hospital, I spent all night there until 6am. I had to go home after that. It’s been weird, she hasn’t passed yet but she’s got sepsis.
‘It’s genuinely horrible but I am kind of content only because in my head at the moment, obviously everything’s very weird still, like coming out of the jungle and adapting to society again. But my nan held in for a month for me to get back and now she’s finally letting go.’
He revealed that his grandmother recognised him by the sound of his voice when he entered her room: ‘She saw me and when I got there yesterday, the first time, she heard my voice and she smiled and opened her eyes, and that’s the first time she’s opened her eyes in a while.
‘My nan is a strong woman, she fought cancer four times but it’s life. I’m going straight back there to make sure she is comfortable.
‘Like I said to Ant and Dec, I wasn’t going to do the show, I took the choice to do it and luckily – like I knew my nan would – she’s held out until she heard my voice.
‘I knew she would never let go until she had seen all of her grandchildren and children. She’s got six children and I think there’s 12 grandchildren, so I knew she wouldn’t let go until I got back. I knew it.
‘I was never a believer in that kind of s**t, but now I believe it. But she’s stable, she’s hanging in there. We stay positive until it comes.’
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Myles admitted his greatest fear was his nan passing away while he was in the jungle without contact with his family and a 24-hour flight away from home.
He explained: ‘That’s what I was most scared about. My nan was the one that taught me to cook. Like, my mum was not the best of cooks, but my nan is an unbelievable cook.’
Myles admitted he learned the skill – which made him a hugely valuable member of the camp – because it was what his nan used as a punishment for being naughty.
He explained: ‘And when I used to be in trouble my nan would make me cook [as a punishment] but I would pretend that I didn’t like cooking so she would make me cook more instead of doing another chore.
‘I spent so much time at her house as a kid. So growing up I’ve got used to West Indian cuisine and Caribbean dishes, so that is one thing I can always take with me and cherish.’
While he might be a dab hand in the kitchen at home, the ingredients that were offered up in camp ranged from crocodile feet to camel steaks… so not something you’d pick up at your local supermarket.
Myles seemed to instinctively know how to make a delicious meal for his fellow campmates out of whatever ingredients were put in front of him, and his skill impressed so much there’s even rumours of a cookery book deal being fought over by three publishers trying to sign him up.
He revealed that his normal skills were transferable depending on the type of meat that he was given to cook: ‘Cooking is a confidence thing and an experimental thing. You experiment with the stuff you’re given and you make it work.
‘White meat you cook like white meat, red meat you cook like red meat and fish you cook like fish, it is as simple as that.
‘Food is the most vital thing in there. And it’s the most precious thing in there as well. So if everybody was having a long day, I knew food could make them better, like cooking a good meal and it tasting nice with what you’ve got, everyone would feel good from it.
‘So I knew I knew it was a big job, I knew it was a big task but at the end of the day it was something I wanted to do because that was my time to shine.’
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