I’m A Celebrity’s Denise Drysdale doubts her career would get off the ground in 2024

Denise Drysdale

“If I was starting now, I don’t know whether I’d have a job.”

Denise Drysdale was the first contestant to bid farewell to the I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here jungle after being eliminated during the 10 April episode of the series.

Drysdale was the oldest contestant to ever enter the camp, but soon realised that if she were to start her career in this day and age, she would struggle to get it off the ground.

“All the younger ones are into [social] media,” the 75-year-old told Chattr the morning after her elimination. “That to me is a whole new world… they sell themselves all the time and I never had to do that.”

Admitting that her 50+ year career came from putting her “head down to do the job”, she was also aware that she had been very “lucky” in her employment. 

“If I was starting now, I don’t know whether I’d have a job,” she said. “If I had to start again, I don’t think I’d cope.”

The Studio 10 alum also revealed that she was in awe of Stephen K Amos – particularly when it came to his stand-up.

“I’ve never ever had to go on stage and prove myself because every time I went on, I was on telly and the audience was ready for it,” she said.

“I have come up in a generation where we were allowed to make mistakes and it’s been fantastic. I’ve been so lucky.”

A big win for Denise was the opportunity to raise awareness of her chosen charity, Gotcha4Life, whose mission is to inspire and enable people to build mental fitness with the hope of a world where no one worries alone. 

10’s airing of Denise Drysdale’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! elimination episode recorded a total TV national reach of 1,270,000, a total TV national audience of 673,000, and a BVOD audience of 59,000.

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