Actress Shona McGarty says Aitch I’m A Celebrity romance rumours are ‘rubbish’

By Casey Cooper-Fiske, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter

Former EastEnders actress Shona McGarty has said rumours of a romance between her and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! campmate and rapper Aitch are “rubbish”.

The 34-year-old placed third on the ITV reality programme behind runner-up and Celebs Go Dating receptionist Tom Read Wilson and King Of The Jungle and YouTube star Angryginge, whose real name is Morgan Burtwistle.

Speaking about rumours she had fallen for Aitch, 25, whose real name is Harrison Armstrong, during the show, McGarty told ITV morning show Lorraine: “I mean, I’m like over 10 years older than him, and also honestly the rumours are rubbish.

“He is like my little brother, I was like his older sister, and we just had the same energy level, we were just hyper and silly, and that’s why we got on.”

It was also revealed that this year’s contestants have already set up a WhatsApp group, with McGarty calling her campmates “best friends”.

She added: “We’re all going to keep in touch, and I think that’s just what’s so beautiful about this experience, is that you do make friends for life.

“And when I’ve spoken to people who’ve said they’ve done it and you do become a big family, I didn’t really believe them because of how short a period of time you’re in, but actually, it’s really true, these are my family now.”

Presenter Lorraine Kelly also asked McGarty about her yodelling on the series.

McGarty said: “Yodelling is something I do at home, it’s something I learned during lockdown, I got a book and a CD and just decided to learn it, it’s a little bit of a party trick.”

The actress, who has also sung on charity records, said she would like to move into presenting when she returns to the UK, but added she wanted to do “a bit of everything”.