Roman Kemp’s mum Shirlie says his frog phobia is “embarrassing”

Image Source/ Evening Standard

The 26-year-old radio star is in Australia for the new series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and he was left shouting for help when he had to face his amphibian fear during the ITV reality show’s launch episode on Sunday (17.11.19).

The former Wham! singer told Capital Breakfast:

‘I know, where’s this frog fear come from?

‘I have no idea! I mean that was embarrassing, calling for the girls, I thought, “Oh no, Ro, don’t let me down now!”‘

The former Pepsi and Shirlie star is hopeful her son – who she shares with husband Martin Kemp – hasn’t inherited her fear of the dark, as she opened up on what Bushtucker Trials she hopes her boy can avoid.

She said:

‘The idea of being put in the ground in the dark with the rats. I don’t like the dark, I don’t know if I’ve given him that phobia’.

And Shirlie was “barely breathing” as she watched Roman take on the terrifying first challenge over the weekend as several campmates had to walk on planks hanging off a building over 330ft high.

She added:

‘Oh my goodness, I was barely breathing. I’ve never had that thing where your palms are sweating, and I suddenly released my hands and they were soaking because he was up on that…

‘I’ve got a real fear of heights, and just that heights thing being up, and his knees and the wind. I was just… I was barely breathing’.

Roman made no secret of his frog fear before he went into the jungle, and also revealed he’s scared of “cotton wool”.

He previously said:

‘Please don’t place me near frogs. Please don’t place me around cotton wool. That’s a genuine fear, I don’t know the name of it. You might be able to look it up’.

Tune into Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp, week days from 6am-10am, with Rob Howard in for Roman Kemp while he’s in the jungle.