The sister of Charlene White says the ITV journalist "echoed what the whole of the UK has been feeling" when she attacked Matt Hancock over his failures as Health Secretary.
Viewers saw ITV news and Loose Women star Charlene take Hancock to task over his mistakes including his clinch with his aide caught on CCTV which broke covid guidelines.
In the most poignant scene of the series so far, Charlene said: "My aunt died from Covid in the first wave. So, we couldn’t go to the hospital to visit her. I had to sit by myself in the church at her funeral.
"We couldn’t hug each other because we were following guidance. And I get that you fell in love, I understand all of those things, but sorry for a lot of families like mine doesn’t really cut it.”
Matt replied: “Yeah. Well, there you go. That’s one of the reasons that I regret it as much as I do.”
Reflecting on that moment, Carina White said it had been difficult to watch but she was proud of what her big sister did.
She said: "I think she handled it really well you know, they were all taken aback and she asked the questions I felt in a really comfortable and respectful manner and they were able to just move forward with it
"It kind of echoed what everyone in the UK has been feeling those who have been affected by Covid and looking on socials and seeing a lot of people say they can relate to that as well I think for her she has been able to put her personal feelings aside and ask the questions that the majority of the UK want to hear and know the answers to. I think now they have had that conversation and they have been able to move forward in a professional manner in the camp."
Remembering her aunt, Carina added: "Growing up in a family where we grew up everyone kind of especially the elders in our our family they were all very much like mother figures and with my aunt she was my great-aunt so very much kind of a grandmother and she was there for us when my mum passed so not having her around and having to go to her funeral and stuff was very, very tough but we have all been in our family instilled with values and morals and strength to be able to overcome adversity and to move forward and to turn pain into strength and I think that is what we have all done following our aunt’s death."
Responding to claims her sister was "bossy" in camp, Carina offered an explanation for how she might come across that way.
Defending her sister, she said: "She is very bossy at home but she raised us from when she was about 21 because my mum passed away young so she has always been that mother figure to us as siblings. And she wants to get people together and making sure everyone is OK, that is Charlene to a T. So I don't see it as a negative at all.
"I have had to kind of stay off social media cos I want to reply to everything saying 'that is not what she is like'. She is a people person and she has lots of different friends from lots of backgrounds and personalities. As a journalist it is in her to converse with other people and she has been doing it really well even when people have criticised her to her face."
In Australia days before the show began Charlene admitted tearfully she was missing her son Alfie, five, and daughter Florence, three.
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Carina said: "Where she is having down times and quiet times I think that is when she is missing home because she is normally the one who gets people going and wants everyone to be happy and upbeat. So the quiet times have surprised me but other than that she has been on brand for who Charlene is.
"Its been so hard with Florence and Alfie being so young, they've been missing her, she has been missing them and I've been missing her. I talk to my sister every day, she is like my therapist.
"I burst into tears the first night when she cried because she is not someone who cries easily and so I knew she must be really missing home. The second time she cried when she got the photo of her kids I was crying too but also laughing because I knew she would hate the photo frames so I was laughing and feeling emotional at the same time."
Asked if she wants her sister to win, Carina added: "I want her to stay in there until the end but even if she comes out early I think she will have enjoyed the experience. She went in to have the experience. The fact she has slept outside, encountered snakes and scorpions and all these different things and hasn't crumbled, I am incredibly proud and she should be incredibly proud too."
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