I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! 2012: Linda Robson

Famous for: Birds of a Feather; advertising Surf; chat-show appearances

Biography:

Islington-born Linda got her start in showbiz in 1970 at the age of 12 and spent her adolescence appearing on TV in all manner of acting and presenting capacities. She hit the big time in 1989 with a starring role in the Bafta-nominated sitcom Birds of a Feather, which ran for nine years on BBC1 (and is apparently due to make a comeback in 2013).

While Birds of a Feather was on air Robson and her co-star Pauline Quirke made a fortune in a popular ad campaign for Surf washing powder, and she began making appearances on the TV talk show circuit in 2000.

Since Birds came to an end Linda’s had relatively few acting roles, but she’s appeared on everything from BBC2’s comedy gripe-fest Grumpy Old Women to the Channel 5 stop-smoking reality series Celebrity Quitters via Loose Women, The ONE Show and Cash in the Celebrity Attic.

For years Linda resisted I’m a Celebrity’s invitations, confirming in a 2010 interview that she’d turned down £100,000 to appear on the show in the past. Speaking at the time, she said: “Yes, there are some things that just aren't worth it. And I couldn't do any of those challenges – I have a phobia about crawling things so I'd get hysterical.”

Happily though, according to a recent Sun report, Linda’s since had hypnotherapy to overcome her fears and is upbeat about her impending I’m a Celebrity appearance. In fact, after confirming that she’s bought a “lovely white” bikini with her to Australia, Linda promised: “I’m going to be just like Myleene!”

Videos:

Birds of a Feather

Surf ad

Loose Women