Radio DJ Roman Kemp has vowed to pay tribute to his “amazing” godfather George Michael when he is in the jungle – and is aware his fellow celebs may want to know more about his family than himself.
The 26-year-old is the breakfast host at Capital FM but has Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp for a dad, George Michael as his late godparent and mum Shirley Holliman was a backing singer for the Wham!.
Roman has rarely spoken about George since his death in 2016 but asked if he will discuss their relationship when in camp, Roman said: “Listen, his legacy and everything he left behind is amazing.
"The only memories I have of George is amazing. And someone that is a dear part of my family and so if someone wants to ask me something, it's never negative or anything like that, it's how much love I have for this guy and how much love he had for everyone around him.
“So, if anything, it's always been a positive. I've never really held any bad memories of George, ever. It's always been, I was very fortunate with an amazing childhood and very privileged and I'm super pleased to have known him as closely as I did.
“I think doing my job and doing radio, you're constantly vulnerable, do you know what I mean? And I'm a very open person, so there's not any topics that I won't really talk about in there.”
Roman has a phobia of cotton wool as well and is worried about doing trials in the dark, but insists he will be fine with spiders and other creepy crawlies.
He believes his upbringing with celebrities constantly around him will help with the initial bonding on the show with the other nine contestants.
He said: “I think, to be honest, it's always been a thing for me that's been lucky with my job and having to interview big personalities and big celebrities and I think that's just because I have been fortunate enough and grateful enough to be able to grow up around dinner tables with high profile people and you realize, 'Okay, these people like to talk like this. This personality may be a bit more like this', so it definitely helps, yeah.”
He has been a fan of the show since he was a child and says his dad Martin also loves the ITV show.
The pair also share personality traits, including being comfortable with showing their emotions, which means we may see tears from Roman on screen if things go wrong or he misses his girlfriend.
Asked if he will cry on the show, he said: “Oh, 100%. I'm a really emotional guy. I take it after my dad. My dad cries at every movie you can ever imagine. I definitely take after him, and I think it's really important and again, I'm just so grateful of how my dad had taught me in terms of being able to show those emotions and especially in places like this.
“Some people might shy away from it but it's an important thing to do. I think someone mentioned this to me before that whether or not it's someone being sad or someone else being upset with someone, I always think communication and sharing how it is that you feel, is the most important thing in a close proximity program like this one.”
And although being used to celebrities around him, Roman did admit he has been a bit lost for words once during his time on the Gold Coast waiting to enter the jungle.
He said: “They said, 'Okay, you've got to see Medic Bob now'. I haven't been that star-stuck in a long time. And it was like some weird, surreal dream that was happening because all of a sudden I had this guy who I've seen through my childhood sat on this bed and talking to me and it was just really, really strange.
“I was like, 'That's actual Bob sat on front of me. I've watched you on the telly for years and now we're talking serious and you're telling me about ticks and snakes and spiders'
“He gave me advice like, 'If you go to the toilet, just make sure you shine your light on the floor because you might step on a snake when you want to go for a wee, and that's never good'.
So I'm like, 'Okay, this is actually, genuinely real, not just a fake set,' and I am potentially going to step on a snake when I go for a wee.”
* I’m A Celebrity starts at 9pm on Sunday night on ITV.
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