Former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has opened up on his fears for his wife as he gears up to enter I’m A Celebrity jungle once again
Harry Redknapp almost pulled out of his previous appearance on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!(Image: Getty Images)
Premier League legend Harry Redknapp previously harboured reservations about entering the jungle due to his wife Sandra’s ill health. The former Tottenham Hotspur manager is set to return to the jungle for the new series of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here… South Africa, which kicks off on Monday evening.
The 79-year-old triumphed on the show in 2018 and frequently spoke of his devotion to Sandra during his stint in the Australian jungle.
However, Redknapp very nearly didn’t participate in the series. He became visibly emotional when the show’s producers arranged for him to be reunited with his wife, who had contracted sepsis, shortly before he entered the camp eight years ago.
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Sepsis is a potentially fatal condition in which the body struggles to combat infections. The former manager described the ordeal as “very scary,” as Sandra was rushed to hospital, and admitted that his involvement in the programme had been in serious doubt.
Harry said at the time: “What made it worse was just before I went on the show, Sandra had sepsis and was really ill, so I wasn’t going to go, you know. But then she improved, so I said any problems and I’m out of there straight away.
“Anyway, when they called me down to the Bush Telegraph of whatever they called it, they said, ‘We want you out, you’ve got to leave the camp immediately.’
Harry Redknapp has spoken of Sandra’s health battles(Image: ITV)
“I said, ‘Why, what’s happened?’ They said, ‘We can’t tell you, you’ve got to go out, you’ve got to leave now’. So when I saw Sandra, it made it ten times worse as I thought there was a problem.
“I was terrified I was going to lose her and I nearly didn’t get on the plane. But she wasn’t having it – she wanted me to go. I’ll never forget the moment she came into camp to see me. It was the first time she’d seen me cry.”
The West Ham United legend subsequently established a sepsis awareness campaign after Sandra’s recovery from the illness.
In 2022, alarm struck Harry once more after Sandra experienced breathing difficulties following a case of Covid earlier that year. He told The Mirror: “The symptoms weren’t good, if I’m truthful. You start to think about all kinds of sinister things.”
Speaking about her health struggle, Sandra said: “You don’t realise what your vocal cords do until they’re not working, because it affects breathing as well as talking. The shortness of breath was very difficult. My voice would vibrate and was very weak.”
Sandra and Harry’s first date took place at the Two Puddings pub in East London in 1963. They wed at St Margaret’s Parish Church in Barking, East London, in June 1968.
Harry was crowned King of the Jungle in 2019(Image: Tim Merry)
The couple share two children – former Liverpool and Spurs midfielder Jamie, 52, and Mark, 55. Reflecting on how he met his other half in 2022, he said: “In some ways it feels like yesterday since I first set eyes on Sandra, but in other ways, we have been together for a lifetime.”
Speaking about their enduring relationship during his first appearance on I’m a Celebrity, Harry revealed the depth of his connection with his wife. He said: “Even when I’m out, I ring her ten times a day. She’s my life. I’m a bit scared, actually, getting older.
“I do love her too much, if anything happened, it would just kill me. We just get on so well, I only want to be with her. I can never wait to see her.”
I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here… South Africa begins on Monday, April 6, at 9pm on ITV1 and is also available to stream on ITVX.
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