At 69, Beverley Callard has revealed the heartbreaking truth behind her sudden exit from I’m A Celebrity… South Africa — and it’s far more devastating than viewers ever realised.
The actress broke down in tears after watching her emotional departure air, admitting she had no idea at the time that she was unknowingly battling breast cancer.
The show, filmed in Kruger National Park last year, saw Beverley forced to quit on medical grounds after what she described as “a funny turn.” But months later, that moment would take on a far darker meaning.
She confessed: “I just watched my exit on I’m A Celeb and it made me cry all over again. Of course, I didn’t know then that I had cancer but I just knew that it was the last couple of days there that I hadn’t felt very well.”
Recalling the terrifying moment, Beverley revealed she briefly lost consciousness while filming in the Bush Telegraph. “What happened was, I went into the Bush Telegraph and apparently, I lost consciousness for a little while. I just wasn’t feeling myself,” she said.
Medics rushed her to a medical hut — and delivered the news she didn’t want to hear.
“They were amazing… but they said ‘you can’t go back’,” she explained. Despite pleading to stay, telling them “don’t say that, don’t send me home, I’ll be fine,” her journey came to an abrupt end.
At the time, Beverley told her stunned campmates: “I’ve got something to tell you all. I didn’t feel very well this morning and I had a bit of a funny turn and they’ve said I can’t come back in — I’ve got to go. I’m absolutely gutted. I don’t want to go.”
Her exit left the camp shaken. Ashley Roberts comforted her, saying she needed to look after herself, while Adam Thomas admitted: “It is so sad to see her go out like that.” Scarlett Moffatt added: “The camp won’t be the same without her.”
Fighting back tears, Beverley later said she had wanted to prove that older women could go the distance. “I didn’t want this to finish. I wanted to prove that older women could do it,” she shared.
But what she didn’t know then was that this moment marked the beginning of a much bigger battle.
Four months after filming, Beverley was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer — a shock that redefined everything she had experienced in the jungle.
In a later update, she revealed that although surgery successfully removed the cancer, it had spread to one of her lymph nodes. Doctors are now determining how aggressive the disease is, with treatment options depending on the results.
Despite the uncertainty, Beverley remains determined. Through tears and fear, her message was clear: “I will beat this. I will beat it.”
