Reality TV

EXCLUSIVE: How being the “camp mum” on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! helped Poh Ling Yeow connect with her inner child

''That was one of the most interesting things to go through.''
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With such a diverse range of celebrities dropped into the I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! jungle, it’s always a surprise to see the dynamic that forms within the group. From just the first few hours at camp, former Collingwood Football Coach Nathan Buckley and chef Poh Ling Yeow took on the role of the camp parents.

“Poh and I, we got the mum and dad roles at the camp really quickly,” Nathan, 49, reveals to TV WEEK. “And Beau was the naughty kid.”

Although Beau denies getting up to too much mischief, Nathan was quick to assert that he certainly lived up to his prank-loving reputation.

Celebrity chef Poh Ling Yeow took on the role of camp Mum.

(Ten)

“From the moment he first opens his eyes to the moment they close, he’s up to mischief,” Nathan laughs. “He wouldn’t know any different.”

When Poh arrived in the jungle, she knew she’d be putting her skills in the kitchen to good use cooking for the celebs, but her status as camp mum took her by surprise.

“I don’t know how it happened but it just happened instantly and everyone was like ‘yup, you’re mum and dad’,” Poh, 48, shares.

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But while she was hailed as the camp matriarch, inside, Poh felt like the experience of being in the jungle helped her connect with her own inner child.

“A lot of the emotions and things you go through are things that you probably haven’t experienced since you were a child, like feeling bored, needing permission to do things, feeling hungry,” Poh explains.

“That kind of helplessness and being told what to do, it’s these childlike rules that we haven’t had in a long, long time. That was one of the most interesting things to go through.”

Nathan said he assumed the Dad role, while Beau Ryan was a “naughty kid” in the jungle.

(Ten)

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