It’s no easy challenge, heading to Australia for three weeks, taking part in gruesome trials and raising awareness for autism all at the same time, but Anne Hegerty has taken it all in her stride.
Anne Hegerty, better known as The Chase’s ‘Governess’, was announced as one of this year’s contestants of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, alongside Nick Knowles (DIY SOS), John Barrowman (Doctor Who’s Captain Jack) and Harry Redknapp, and has been taking part in all the challenges that the show has to offer, including trials like drinking a pint of liquid fish eyes.
However, aside from the challenges, Anne has also been offering a new and candid perspective on her Asperger’s syndrome, which affects more than 700,000 people in the UK.
Stating that she wasn’t diagnosed until the age of 45, she initially struggled in the jungle due to her new and unknown surroundings but was happy to talk to her campmates about her condition, which has prompted praise from previous contestants, campmates, and audience members alike.
Anne has repeatedly been nominated by the public to take part in the ‘Bushtucker trials’ on the show, something that many viewers disagreed with, believing that she was being singled out by the audience after speaking out about her autism.
However, the National Autistic Society (NAS) disagreed, saying that Anne was proving her “grit and determination” in all her trials, as well as “being a great role model” for other autism sufferers.
Additionally, Tom Purser, head of NAS campaigns, revealed that there was a huge spike in calls to their helpline after Hegerty first spoke about autism on the show, asking for more information on autism and looking for ways to be diagnosed, which Purser described as a “landmark moment” for the charity.
Anne’s presence on the show captured many of the audience’s hearts, including 11-year-old Joseph, who wrote a handwritten letter to Hegerty, praising her for her confidence on the show and admitting his own struggles with autism, but Joseph stated that it is role models like Anne that give him hope.
Joseph wrote a letter for Anne Hegerty 🙂#AnneHegerty #theChase #ImACeleb pic.twitter.com/NdXQVG7QfZ
— Kate (@apparentlymad) November 19, 2018
Other celebrities that also suffer from autism include Britain’s Got Talent winner Susan Boyle and Sir Anthony Hopkins, and have also spoken out about their challenges in the past.
Susan Boyle stated in an interview that she doesn’t let her Asperger’s syndrome “define me. It’s a condition that I have to live with and work through”.
Ultimately, Hegerty is unknowingly prompting a new wave of autism awareness and granting recognition for an illness that is long overdue.
By Faith Pring