I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star Melvin Odoom recently opened up about a tumultuous time in his life that left him living in fear. When the country went into lockdown due to the rising cases of Covid-19, the 44-year-old was hit hard by isolation as well, as his mother, a care worker, fell seriously ill.
Melvin’s fears peaked when she had to be hospitalised, and strict rules were in place regarding visits. At the time, Melvin and his co-stars Rickie Haywood-Williams and Charlie Hedges were allowed to go into the studio on a rotating basis, however, he was too frightened to do so.
“I didn’t want to go into the office,” he confessed last year. “I didn’t want to leave my house and so Rickie and Charlie… this is what I’m saying about the support.
“They would go in the like each week, so one week it would be Rickie, one week it would be Charlie. They would control the desk and the faders and stuff.
“And I’d sit in this room and broadcast from here for eight months, eight months before I came into the studio.”
Recounting the initial period of lockdown furthermore, Melvin admitted he had pleaded with his mother not to go to work due to the rising Covid cases but understood her commitment to aiding others.
“And then she got ill and then I was, I didn’t know whether to be upset with her or sad, or it was just all these different mad emotions going through my head,” he added on Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time podcast.
“But yeah, lockdown was a mad time. It was a really crazy time.”
The radio presenter’s mum remarkably pulled through sickness and made a full recovery. With her returned health, she’s all set to be cheering for Melvin during his current adventure on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, where he recently brought her up in conversation.
An endearing scene unfolded on the programme when Melvin proudly displayed a cushion bearing an array of family snaps together with an unexpected picture of television personality Carol Vorderman. While browsing through his assembled images, he expressed: “My dad, my mum and Carol Vorderman. My crush.”
Addressing his long-standing affection for Carol, he added: “I have been a fan of Carol Vorderman for a very long time, in fact I have a little rap.
“I know a woman so fine, she’s mature like a fine wine. The mandem can’t comprehend my 10 out of 10 Carol Vorderman, woo I wanna work her out, check your DMs girl and I’ll be waiting.”