I’m A Celebrity’s Frankie Dettori reveals secret advantage he has over his co-stars as he enters jungle
CHAMPION jockey and jungle latecomer Frankie Dettori admitted he was using his stint in camp as a diet ahead of his next competitive race.
Frankie, 52, will ride at Santa Anita race course on Boxing Day and is using the camp diet of rice and beans to keep himself at the right weight.
He said: “I was told that it could be a good weight loss coming into the camp so that’s good because I’m going to America in five weeks.
“I spent 35 years dieting.
“I’ve been obviously looking at the cast, I’ll probably be the smallest one in there so I’ll probably be the one that’s going to suffer the least.
“But it’ll probably give me more incentive to get stars.”
Frankie, who pulled a U-turn on his decision to retire from racing last month, got advice from some former campmates before flying Down Under but insisted he was up for anything.
He added: “Willy Carson went in there and I spoke to Gino D’Acampo as well. He said: ‘Just be yourself’.
“He said at times you will be bored a bit. But, you know, embrace and just live the moment.
“I’m being honest, I really don’t know what to expect, you know, and I’m looking forward to it and wish me luck. If I eat kangaroo balls or anus don’t tell anyone.”
Meanwhile, Frankie revealed there was one campmate he was already aware of.
He added: “Myself and Nigel know each other already, we shared a manager at the time and we had lunch once with a racehorse owner, a very posh lunch.
“It was very amusing and yeah, we got on really well already.
“It was a nice lunch, it wasn’t crazy, it was civilised.
“He’s a bigger than life character.
“Well I’m keen to meet everyone. Obviously to see a familiar face like Nigel it makes me feel a little bit more at ease.
“I’m a late one in so a lot of questions I have to ask so I guess they’d be the first person I can talk to because I could actually know him, I can ask him things now about what’s been going on.”