Paul Burrell grieved for Queen Elizabeth along with his campmates on 'I'm A Celebrity...South Africa.'

Paul Burrell grieved for the Queen during his time on I'm A Celeb: South Africa

Paul Burrell grieved for the Queen during his time on I'm A Celeb: South Africa

The 64-year-old former butler has since become a regular face on television since he worked for the late Princess Diana and was in South Africa last September shooting the 'I'm A Celeb' spin-off - which sees former campmates of the ITV jungle survival show 'I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!' battle it out to become the Legend of the Savanna - when he learned that his "surrogate mother" Queen Elizabeth had died at the age of 96 but opted to stay in the competition so he could "share his grief" with his co-stars.

Speaking on ITV's 'Lorraine', Paul - who placed runner-up behind comedian Joe Pasquale on the regular version of the show in 2004 - said: "I went to Buckingham Palace when I was 18 years old and the Queen became my surrogate mother. I know that's difficult for people to understand but living with someone in close proximity for 11 years, you do begin to love them. I

"I loved the Queen, she was a wonderful, wonderful lady. She shaped me, along with Diana and they made me the man I am today. Whilst I was in South Africa, the ITV team asked me if I wanted to go home. I said 'Listen, I'm better here. This is my sanctuary right now. If I go home, it'll be a circus. So let me stay here with the other celebrities and I'll share my grief with them because she was their Queen too."

Paul - who is competing on the new version of the show alongside the likes of former 'You Are What You Eat' presenter Gillian McKeith, 'Eastenders' actor and series eight winner Joe Swash, 'Countdown' star Carol Vorderman and 2017 Queen of the Jungle Georgia Toffolo - was diagnosed with prostate cancer shortly after returning home from South Africa and just weeks after completing treatment explained that he found the "strength" to get through his experience with the help of two royal "angels" on his shoulders.

He added: "It saved my life. I didn't know when I was sat there, I knew something was wrong though. So when I got back, I went to the doctors and they found out with it was cancer. So I'm sat in the jungle with cancer, the Queen has died and I'm thinking 'How do I get through this?'

"But I gathered the strength from somewhere. I had two angels sat on my shoulders. The Princess, and the Queen.

"I'm doing good, my next checkup is in six months. I'm going to live my life, live it large and live it every day."

'I'm A Celebrity...South Africa' will air on ITV1 and ITVX from 9pm on Monday, April 24.

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