I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here ! 2021 | Interview with Kadeena Cox MBE (Paralympic Gold Medallist)

Phobias: Snakes, rats, spiders, heights – everything!

Biggest misconception you want to dispel in the Castle: Great to be able to show people with all disabilities they can try different things in life.

Role in the camp: Chef – so long as there isn’t too much pressure to make the food interesting!

Miss most: TikTok, my mum and dog.

Dream camper: Thierry Henry –I love watching Arsenal play.

She is a four time Paralympic gold champion and one of the British stars of this year’s Tokyo games but Kadeena Cox readily admits going on I’m A Celebrity will be mentally tougher than anything she has ever done before.

From rats and spiders to snakes, not to mention a fear of heights, the 30-year-old says she is hoping her experience as a world class athlete will help to overcome some of the famous show Trials and challenges.

“Going on I’m A Celebrity is something so different for me and it’s completely out of my comfort zone”, explains Kadeena.

“As a Paralympian, you are always trying to get that one per cent extra all the time and defending my title earlier this year in Tokyo was the hardest thing I have ever had to do but I think going into the Castle is going to be far harder mentally.

“I am scared of spiders, I don’t like rats, I don’t like snakes, and I don’t like heights. But I am hoping the athlete in me will want to do it for the team and just get through that tough moment. I will scream afterwards!”

“My mum thinks I am crazy to be doing it too and it hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but I am also really looking forward to meeting some new people from different walks of life.”

Kadeena – who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2014 – reckons the lack of food in the Castle will not, however, prove too much of a nightmare because she is so used to avoiding things she loves. And ahead of her stint in the Castle, Kadeena, awarded an MBE in 2017, reveals she has already started to cut out sugar.

“As an athlete you have to be very disciplined and stay away from things that you want to eat and do and so I am hoping it will give me a bit of an edge but I do also have a sweet tooth and so I have already started to cut sugar out of my diet.”

As well as defending her cycling titles in Tokyo, Kadeena took part in the BBC’s MasterChef celebrity competition and to her amazement; she went on to win the contest. Will she be putting her newly found culinary skills to the test in the Castle? “It would be cool to be the chef in the Castle but at the same time, there will be a lot of pressure to make the food taste good,” she replies.

“But I am a friendly person, and I will be there to give everyone a hug too.”

As well as missing her beloved dog and mum, who she speaks to every day, Kadeena is also putting her training for her next big global competition on hold to take part in I’m A Celebrity. But she says it is worth postponing the training to take part in such a hit series. “It will be good to push your body in a different way,” adds the sports star. “It will also be good to be out of that head space of constantly trying to get that one per cent extra gain.”

As for whether she will be going for gold in Wales to try and be crowned the new Queen of the Castle and it’s a resounding yes – but to inspire others. Explains Kadeena: “If I were to win I’m A Celebrity as a disabled person and show that I can overcome things, then I think that would be a great thing to show that people with all disabilities can do things”.