Britt Ekland
Age: 68
Date of birth: 6th October 1942
Phobias: None. “Once you have children, whatever your fears are, they have to go”
Missing any special occasion: Yes, spending Thanksgiving with her family
Relationship status: Single
She is the glamorous former Bond girl who is used to living a life of luxury, and as she prepares to go into the jungle, Britt Ekland admits she is dreading sleeping outside in the rough.
“I like extreme comfort. I have never taken the children camping before and they like extreme comfort too,” explains Britt who starred with 007 in The Man With The Golden Gun movie.
“And so I really am dreading not sleeping in my fluffy gorgeous plump four poster bed. I will miss that a lot.”
But the actress, who has released several fitness DVDs as well as enjoying a long acting career, plans to take her mind off the basic living conditions by turning the jungle into her own gym.
She says: “I am very much the type of person who is a doer. I like to have a project and I do like exercise. I am very dependant on that for my sanity. I am going to devise a mini programme that I can do. I will probably do the plank – the plank is an exercise for your stomach.
“I have no idea what anything looks like and so until I see, I can’t say what I will use – but something like a litre bottle of water you could use as a weight.”
To prepare for the experience, she has cut out coffee, alcohol, sugar, dairy and wheat in the month leading up to flying out to Australia.
Says Britt: “I have not had any for a month and it’s been fine and not a problem. I had a little bit of tiramisu on my birthday on the 6th October but that is the only sugar I have had for a month. I am very fit. I think ultimately it is about being true to yourself and not pretending to be someone you are not – not putting on any airs or graces and being a team player which I am very good at. When you work on stage, you work amongst people and you are part of a group.”
Admitting she can be a bit of a control freak from time to time, the star - who was married to Peter Sellers and enjoyed a high profile relationship with Rod Stewart – will have no qualms telling her fellow celebrity campers if they are behaving out of order.
“Being an actress and having had children, life has to be immensely organised,” she admits. “I am used to being in charge. I am a little bit of a dictator. If someone is being annoying, I will try to explain to him or her that it is not appropriate behaviour. I am actually hoping the jungle will teach me to let go. I am the type who needs to be in control.
“The human trait I loathe? I hate it when people spit. And also when people are delusional. If they are 45 years of age, say, and they think they are going to make a hit show, that is self-delusional.”
Most of her famous friends don’t know Britt is going into the jungle, but she hopes to dispel a few public misconceptions, namely that she can be a bit of an ice queen, during her time on the show.
Britt explains: “Early on in my career, I was called cold and aloof. And because I am Scandinavian, they think I am not approachable and a little bit icy, but I am definitely not. “
And despite being known for leading a glamorous lifestyle, Britt doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty. “I think people will be surprised to see me in a way I have not been seen before,” she adds. “They will see me as very unglamorous. Stripping down is not a problem for me. Sleep deprivation is also fine. I am an actress. I am used to deprivation. “
She says she is disappointed she is missing Thanksgiving, explaining: “It’s a time when my enormously extended family which includes my three children, two of their fathers, one of the fathers and his wife of 20 years and their 7 children and her mother all get together. We always spend it together and this year I will miss it.”
Britt is currently single, but doesn’t think she will be finding love with a fellow celebrity. “It’s not the setting,” she says. “No, no. Going on this will be an adventure but I am nervous too. I am used to learning my lines and being well prepared. I normally know how long I will be working for and what theatre I will be in. But with this, I can’t even picture what it is going to look like and where I am going. It’s tough to go in and not know anything but I am sure I will enjoy the physical aspects of it.”
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