Anne Hegerty is branching out in the world of reality TV. Photo / Greg Bowker.
Anne Hegerty is branching out in the world of reality TV. Photo / Greg Bowker.
The Chase's Anne Hegerty is appearing on hit reality series I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here and reveals her bosses were keen to reassure her about competing on the show with autism.
Speaking in an interview with The Sun on Friday, the Chase star, 60, admitted that sheeven felt they were "more anxious" about it than she was.
She explained: "They keep saying, 'You must say if there's a problem', and I keep saying, 'I'll be fine.' And they keep saying, 'No no no that's not good enough you have to promise if there's a problem...
"I might get peopled out, there might just be too many people around. I might feel like going to sit in the pool until everyone has shut up a bit... On the other hand it might have advantages if I'm not as good as other people at picking up on bad atmospheres I'll be happy drifting along."
Anne, who has Asperger's syndrome, did admit that the condition may make her "faceblind", meaning that it could lead her to get "some of the campmates mixed up."
The producers of the reality show are keen to look after the welfare of all of the contestants, including Anne, during their time in the competition.
Speaking on Loose Women in September, Anne revealed she doesn't let anyone into her home or like to go on holiday as she prefers things to be quiet.
Anne, who is also know as The Governess, was diagnosed with the form of autism in 2007, two years after she watched a TV programme about autism and realised she had all of the symptoms.
She explained that asperger's makes her unorganised, which has given her a "cluttered" house that she won't let anyone visit.
Anne said: "People always say to me 'Where do you keep your autism?' and I always says 'It's it's behind my front door and I'm not coming in.'
She continued: "I just need everything to go quiet, for people to stop bothering me and not thinking about when I'm going to get packed. I like to have my own kitchen so I can cook and a washing machine so I can do washing. The things you can't get in a hotel."
Anne previously told how the condition had led to her misreading signals from potential love interests - but also believed it has helped her quiz knowledge.
She also revealed how the syndrome costed her a job in proof-reading as her inability to multi-task led to her under-performing.
The job loss left her on benefits and led to two bailiffs arrived within ten minutes of each other on New Year's Day 2008.
Anne later applied for The Chase with the help of a social worker. She has appeared on the show, which is presented by Bradley Walsh, since 2010.
