Jorgie Porter broke down in tears during last night’s I’m A Celebrity as she revealed her difficult childhood pursuing her dancing dream...and the scholarship that finally secured her place at Chester’s prestigious Hammond School .
The Hollyoaks star let her emotions show as she told camp mates about being raised by her mother and grandma and mum’s sacrifices in trying to get her into dance school. Finally, she gained a government grant which paid for her musical theatre course at The Hammond, in Hoole Bank, where she is fondly remembered.
As camp mates listened intently, Jorgie, who hails from Manchester, explained: “My gran was sort of like my mum, and my mum was like my sister. We have always been a proper woman-strong unit.
“So then my Grandma died, just recently last year. But grandma was a music teacher and then I went to loads of auditions for ballet school, and I made it into one - but it was like thousands and thousands and thousands of pounds, we couldn’t afford it.”
Asked if she was OK, she began to cry, Jorgie said yes before adding: “So my mum is an artist. She raised £2,000, and was like ‘I’m going to make sure that you make it to dance school, because it’s your dream and you’ve got to do it’.
“And then I got a scholarship in the end so she didn’t have to keep working.”
Ex-Blue Peter presenter and host of Most Haunted , Yvette Fielding, who lives in Sandbach, Cheshire, with husband Karl, responded: “Oh, that’s great!”
There has been speculation about the flowering of a possible romance with fellow camp mate and boy band member George Shelley who put his arm around Jorgie throughout her candid disclosures and even offered her his monkey jacket as he kept her warm. The pair have been dancing around each other for days, flirtatiously rubbing lotion onto each other and talking in silly voices.
Hammond School spokeswoman Julia Edwards fondly remembers former student Jorgie whom she described as ‘great’ and ‘absolutely fantastic’, adding that ‘everyone is behind her at The Hammond’. She confirmed Jorgie attended from aged 16-21, after securing a government Dance and Drama Award.
“She pretty much went out of here and straight into Hollyoaks,” added Julia. “She does keep in touch. She’s been in to see shows. She is pretty, but she’s also a genuine person and a girl-next-door kind of girl who is obviously talented. I think she might do really well.”
Julia, who is watching the ITV show, said Jorgie had clearly been nervous around some of the bugs and creepy crawlies in the jungle, but commented: “She’s scared of some things and not afraid to show it but she’s coped really well. She’s very likeable and comes across really well. It does people’s careers a lot of good and gets them out there in the public eye. We’d love to get her back in and talk about her experiences. Good luck Jorgie!”
Other celebrities included in this year’s line-up are: Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley, aristocrat and authoress Lady Colin Campbelll, ex-Dragons Den judge Duncan Bannatyne, fashion journalist Susannah Constantine, ex-footballer Kieron Dyer, former boxer Chris Eubank, choreographer Brian Friedman, Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison, Made in Chelsea’s Spencer Matthews and The Only Way is Essex star Ferne McCann.
