She might have been eliminated on the second week of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! but in this exclusive exit chat, actress Kerry Armstrong says she was more than ready to leave the jungle.
With a new movie in the works, three loving sons and a potential Hollywood heartthrob (more on that soon!), waiting for her in the real world it’s no surprise the 60-year-old can’t wait to return to Australia.
Here, we chat to Kerry Armstrong about her time in the jungle, if she’s open to love and what she’s working on next!
How are you feelings? Were you disappointed to be sent home so early on and on the second week?
I’m feeling great because last night I was allowed to fest and eat so it was brilliant! I’m actually looking at my campmates on a screen here, which is incredible to watch. Simone’s stolen my bed already, which I wanted her to!
Two days before I just had this realisation [I was ready to go home] because I’m in the middle of writing and directing a film so it was this sense of I wanted to be in there for the first few weeks. There are people in there that want to be in there for a long time, so for me the timing was perfect.
Talk me through your first meal and how much weight you lost in the jungle?
I had so much chicken last night I’ll be clucking all day. I had roast chicken, then we had a stopover at KFC, which was environmentally unsound but you’ve got to do it. I had crème brûlée and champagne and it was just amazing!
I think I only lost about five-kilos in two weeks, which was good because I didn’t want to lose a lot of weight.
I was lucky I didn’t lose too much because that’s not what I was wanting.
Have you spoken to your sons yet – they must be so proud of you?
The funniest thing happened with my middle son Jai, who was working. I rang from a number he’d never heard of and I rang and said, ‘Hi how are you? It’s lovely to hear your voice!’ And he said, ‘Who is this?’ And I said, ‘Jai! It’s mum!’
They’ve messaged me and said the most beautiful things. Sam said, ‘Mama, so proud of you! You were yourself – honest and dignified. Also did heaps of cool s–t!’
Jai said, ‘Hey mum, proud of you! Missed you so much, can’t wait to welcome you home. All the love in the world.’
And Cal said, ‘Hello mama! Congratulations, you achieved so much I can’t wait to see you next. Please let us know when you’ll be back. Love you.’
Kerry, pictured with her three sons (L-R) Jai, Callum and Sam, can’t wait to be reunited with her boys.
You made some beautiful friendships in the jungle. Who did you connect with the most?
What was fantastic was that all of the girls in there are so strong and beautiful, there wasn’t any other feeling other than support.
And the boys, it was like being at an Aussie BBQ with really good mates. We had some really interesting debates, which at times there were some big waves.
Danny [Green] and I had a couple of moments of dispute but then afterwards he said, ‘I really respect you Kezza. You’re really strong.’
Josh, Simone and I were really close because when your beds are together, you’re like a little family. They became my little brother and sister, which was brilliant.
Jackie’s a sweetheart under all the bravura, Tiffany was divine and Anthony Mundine was one of the sweetest men that I’ve ever met and I just thought he was a champion.
You shared so much in the jungle and fans loved hearing your amazing stories from the entertainment industry – would you ever consider writing a tell-all book?
I think writing about yourself is a little bit long-winded. I’ve been asked lots of times, maybe one day I will.
I think as my agent said, ‘Your stories are so unbelievable!’ until you realise I was just there at that peak of time, you know Studio 54, Hollywood was just booming and I was 25 years old in the middle of it! I was just really lucky.
A lot was made out of your run-in with Nicole Kidman, would you ever consider working with her after sharing such a robust history?
Yeah, absolutely! I think it gets built up by people.
WATCH: Kerry Armstrong on the moment Nicole Kidman lost the AFI Award. Post continues…
“Josh, Simone and I were really close because when your beds are together.”
How long do you think it is before Paul Burrell will let Jackie do a reading with him about Princess Diana?
I think it will and it would be amazing.
With Jackie and I, we’re going to do ours outside of the jungle because there’s a lot of history of stuff of things that happened in Hollywood, which was about the #MeToo campaign that I’ve got to process through.
I think with Paul, if he wants to do it I think he should because his stories are absolutely incredible.
Let’s talk about Josh and Simone – you and Fiona playing cupid was hilarious. Do you think a romance will happen between them?
I actually think they’re such incredibly strong, intelligent, kind and thoughtful people.
I think that they’ve both got love interests kind of on the outside – and why wouldn’t they? I think they’ve now got thousands of love interests, they’ll be getting fan mail up the brass wazoo.
But I really do think they’re great for each other, I think they should have babies then I’ll adopt them all and sell them on EBay!
What about your love life, are you open to romance?
When I first came in they said who did I want in the jungle? And I said Liam Neeson! That’s all I needed, Liam Neeson to come in. We were laughing about it and then on my Yoga mat there was a photo of him!
I guess cause my boys are grown up and I’ve had some really lovely offers to be taken out… the funny thing is, I think in Australia I’m known as Kerry Armstrong so I think if I ever were to go out with someone, it would be really nice to be somewhere outside of being Kerry Armstrong and meet someone who doesn’t know me from that aspect.
Paul Burrell was hilarious because he said to me, ‘I’m almost 60 and I just got married! I found love! And if I can do it, you can do it Kerry.’ Which was so sweet.
So no, I’m not looking but I’m pretty lucky. I’ve got great, great mates and family.
One day if I’m standing and ordering a croissant from a bakery, there might be someone standing next to me – who knows?
And hopefully it’s a Liam Neeson look-alike…
Exactly! He looks lonely, he looks like he needs a bit of cheering up, Liam.
Kerry says her celebrity crush is Liam Neeson.
Who do you think will win?
It’s like picking your favourite child. I really think that Shannon’s got something to show the world, I think he’s maturing into a really wonderful man.
I think Peter has gone in there to prove to himself and his family that he’s invigorating his life.
And I think all the girls and the guys are pretty amazing, I think any of them would be a brilliant winner.
What’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learnt about yourself?
That from playing all these parts over the years, I’m oftentimes more comfortable becoming someone else than being myself. The other thing I found is that I’m really private and I need time and space.
What’s next for you?
I’ve just co-written a film, it’s a love story and it’s a film that I’m going to direct.
Is there any way The Wrong Girl could ever return?
I’m not sure, I think shows like that are wonderful for Australia.
I know the budgets get tighter and tighter as we go on. It probably came at a time when Channel 10 were in transition. The same thing happened with SeaChange, Prisoner.
The wonderful thing is, when shows die and fans are heartbroken, it just means that they loved it which is a great thing. We’ll see!
The actress is currently working on a film which she co-wrote.
