Anne Hegerty praises ITV’s I’m A Celebrity aftercare

ITV told Anne Hegerty they will pay for her to see an "autism expert" any time she wants following ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’.
The ‘Chase’ star – who was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, in 2005 – admitted the TV network "looked after me well" before and while she appeared on the reality show last year, and they also vowed to fork out for her to see someone if she felt the need afterwards.
Speaking at the National Film Awards UK 2019 at London’s Porchester Hall on Wednesday evening (27.03.19), she exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I felt they looked after me well. They had brought in an autism expert beforehand and he asked me to come back in for a sort of follow-up appointment, so I did.
"Any time I feel like I want to go and talk to him ITV will pay for that so that’s good."
Anne saw a specialist on London’s Harley Street, and there was also a psychologist in the jungle for her and others to talk to.
When asked if her ‘I’m A Celebrity’ co-stars received the same level of care as her in the jungle, she added: "I think I got probably a little bit more [care] because there was a psychologist there, but she also brought in this autism expert.
"The psychologist was there in the jungle, but the specialist was back home in Harley Street."
Anne recently admitted she was ruled out of so many ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ Bushtucker Trials because the show’s psychologist "freaked out" that she might not be able to cope.
The 60-year-old star – who lasted 18 days in the Australian jungle before being voted out – said: "I’ve shown a more pathetic side [to myself]. I was a bit surprised that I kept being ruled out on medical grounds.
"What that was actually about was there is a psychologist attached to the programme.
"She got very freaked out by how upset I was by the first trial and basically she kept saying, ‘I don’t want Anne doing this again until she’s recovered.’
"She said to me before I did the second trial, ‘You are absolutely not to push yourself beyond your limits.’
"But I said, ‘I don’t want to let people down.’ She was like, ‘Shut up, stop talking about not letting people down. If you push yourself beyond your limits I’m going to pull you out of the jungle and we will be having the next conversation in a hotel.’ "