DAVID Ginola played magnificent football before tens of thousands of screaming Geordies and Londoners, and many more on television, so it’s unlikely he will be too phased by the I’m a Celebrity camp.
He believes his time at Newcastle United may also have prepared him for the wet and cold winter weather in North Wales, which he has been getting accustomed to while self-isolating at a secret hideaway on Anglesey.
The Frenchman seems as calm and collected as if he were about to walk out onto St James’s Park ahead of the ITV show on Sunday, but some of the challenges that await him at Abergele’s Gwyrch Castle may come as a surprise.
“I’ve been playing football for a long time, I’ve shared a dressing room with a lot of boys, and we were all different,” he said. “We all had different attitudes, different rules and character.
“I think it’s important to get to understand each other, first of all. Everyone is different, so I will have to accept that and make sure that everyone is understanding why we are here [and] what we have to do.
“Different cultures and different mentalities obviously could be an issue but I don’t see a big problem.
“Even my worst nightmare who were defenders, who were defending pretty strongly on me, I will love to have them onboard.”
Ginola remains one of the all-time cult figures of the Premier League for his extravagant style of play, with stints at Newcastle, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton, and his top-level athlete’s mindset could prove valuable in the camp.
His teammates now include former BBC presenter Louise Minchin, Radio 1Xtra DJ Snoochie Shy, Good Morning Britain host Richard Madeley and The Saturdays’ Frankie Bridge.
“I just want to discover the programme, just being myself on the show, it’s very popular and it’s quite an experience, and I guess it’s a challenge because you’re going to be out of your comfort zone,” he said.
“It’s a reminder of how your life is good because when you live without anything you’re used to having around you.
“I will be myself, facing a situation out of our comfort zone. People might be surprised in a good way, people might be surprised in a bad way.”
While he played just on the other side of the Wirral for five months at the end of his career, this will be Ginola’s first time in North Wales.
“I know a little bit about Wales because I got my coaching badges down in Cardiff,” he said. “I know a little bit about the weather, about the countryside.
“It’s actually a lovely place, where we are right now in Anglesey, but the shame is we didn’t really have time to leave because we were in quarantine, but I heard that the seacoast is beautiful.”
At the age of 54, Ginola is perhaps not as nimble as he used to be on the pitch of St James’s Park or White Hart Lane, but he hopes the show will be an opportunity to get into better shape.
“I have a little bit of weight to lose so I think it will be very good for that,” he said jokingly.
“When you have everything that you want, more than you need, you’ll be out of your comfort zone [on the show] in many ways. Food-wise it will also be the case. I’m not really worried about that because I know it will be Christmas after that and I know it will be a wonderful Christmas.
“I just think of it as going on to a diet!”
I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! will be broadcast on ITV1 at 9pm on Sunday, November 21.
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