Georgia Toffolo didn't think she had strength to win I'm A Celeb and reveals deep insecurities despite her fame
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After nine million viewers watched a “beyond shell-shocked” Georgia Toffolo crowned Queen of the jungle , the reality star admitted: “I didn’t think I had this strength.”
She had entered I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here in the midst of a crisis of self-belief after splitting from her boyfriend and hoped the show would restore her confidence.
Now, after overcoming some of the jungle’s toughest challenges and calling out her campmates’ sexism along the way, Made in Chelsea star Georgia , 23, said: “I even shocked myself.”
She admitted: “I couldn’t believe I was there in the first place. I won’t forget swinging on my hammock the first night I got there thinking, ‘How on earth have you pulled this blinder, Georgia?’.
“There were immensely talented people there and I don’t really have any talent of note. Every day it got more surreal. I thought everyone would think I was this blonde airhead.”
(Image: Instagram)
The admission reveals some of the deep insecurities that have threatened to hold Georgia back in the past.
Nicknamed “Toff” due to her plum-in-mouth voice, the Mirror revealed how Georgia comes from more humble beginnings than her Made in Chelsea biography would have fans believe.
She was born to property manager mum Nicola, who greeted the star when she left the jungle having appeared in the E4 reality series alongside her, and scrap metaller Gary Bennett, rarely mentioned on her Instagram page.
Raised in Torquay, Devon, Georgia attended pricey Blundells school before The Maynard school in Exeter and Torquay Girls’ Grammar School.
Politically minded – an “enthusiastic” Tory – she undertook a LLB law degree at the University of Westminster but failed to finish it, leaving to work at a family-run solicitors in Devon.
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Having divided her time between London and Devon, Georgia caught the eye of Made In Chelsea producers when she relocated to the capital in 2012 and started partying with the cast.
But she almost rejected the chance to star in the series. “She thought the jungle was a bad idea at first too,” says a relative.
Ex-Young Apprentice­ star Harry Maxwell met her in the upmarket London club scene.
He said: “Georgia took the calculated­ risk to leave university and step out on her own, but she didn’t know many people when she first moved to London.
“Appearing on Made in Chelsea and becoming more established in the local community helped her confidence.
"She was full of energy and ambition. It opened doors that made her feel comfortable in her own skin.”
She admits she “grew up” on camera, having joined the cast aged just 18. However, Georgia then faced a resurgence­ of her insecurities after some viewers’ comments.
She admits: “I feel way more pressure now than I did when I started the show. People say my bum looks big in a certain thing or stuff like that.
"I’m only human so it does hurt. I try not to engage with those people who leave nasty comments.”
Georgia, who wears a dress size 6, hired Heartcore­ Fitness personal trainer Sam Bird to help stay slim.
(Image: REX/Shutterstock)
“I also go to this class in Fulham; it’s ballet and points and stuff; really good for the shape of your body.”
She worries that her love of junk food was making her hips bigger - and reveals she largely eats from takeaway service Deliveroo as she can’t cook.
“I’ve been working out loads,” she said days before entering the jungle. “It’s just dawned I’m going to be in a bikini in front of a lot of people.”
While riddled with anxieties about her appearance, days before she flew to Australia, she split from boyfriend James Middleton.
“My confidence was knocked so much,” she confided. “I thought, I’m going to be away for so long with no phone or anything, and I want my confidence back. I want to be who I was before.”
(Image: REX/Shutterstock)
James encouraged his Instagram followers to vote for his “superstar” ex, amid rumours they had reconciled before she entered camp.
But despite her ambition, Georgia had reservations about entering the jungle.
“I haven’t done much,” she admits of her fledgling showbiz career.
“I joined Made in Chelsea when I’d just left school. I haven’t been faced with anything similar.”
With concerns she would be deemed an “airhead”, she became determined to prove she was both intelligent­ and fearless in the face of a Bushtucker­ Trial.
(Image: REX/Shutterstock)
The feminist star called out Amir Khan and Jamie Lomas when the pair wrote off her skills in a task, declaring: “I am quite small but it doesn’t mean I am less mighty. It shouldn’t ever be unequal in here.”
Her feistiness endeared her to millions, as did her impressive performances: “With me harping on about girls being as strong as boys, I had to prove it.”
As well as admitting to a penchant for middle-aged politicians, she describes Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg as her “top celebrity crush,” she also palled up with Stanley Johnson , 77.
In Camp, Georgia, was outspoken about her political opinions, though little of them were aired.
She says of her political beliefs: “I get labelled a ditzy, blonde reality TV person, which is fine. But it’s great to know you can do both.
(Image: Internet Unknown)
"It’s OK to have big, blonde hair and wear my bikini and talk about politics. Why not?”
Next up, Georgia is eyeing a TV presenting career, with ITV and Channel 4 both vying to sign her for deals worth £5million.
But she has vowed to “use this and my influence to do good”.
She muses that chats with Stanley opened her eyes to some of the charitable causes she could lend her new found fame too, including ­ conservation and campaigning against female genital mutilation.
“Hopefully I’ll do something great,” she suggests. With well-deserved, new found confidence, no doubt she will.