Says Paul Burrell I've shed demons..I'll move on from Diana Bushtucker Trial was absolutely petrifying How bigmouth Janet nearly destroyed me
TV HERO Paul Burrell yesterday vowed to bury his image as Princess Diana's dutiful butler.
After reinventing himself in I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, runner-up Paul said: "I can't erase the magical memories of life with the princess but I feel I can move on and let go now.
"I discovered the real me in the jungle, lost the butler and dealt with some demons. Viewers saw the real Paul Burrell."
Among the "demons" he faced were a gut-wrenching Bushtucker Trial eating live bugs. "I've never felt so petrified and ill in my whole life," he said. Equally bad was spending two weeks with "scary creature" Janet Street-Porter. "She almost broke me," said Paul
who went on: "So many people saw me only as the dutiful 'Diana's butler' but now they've seen the real me away from the royal butler image and the slurs people have written about me.
"The support from the viewers - backing me for being who I am - is an enormous boost."
Paul lost out to comedian Joe Pasquale for the title of King of the Jungle by just two per cent of the votes in the closest-ever finish for the ITV show.
But he said the best man won.
"I couldn't have finished second to a better bloke," said Paul.
"I don't mind being the prince when he is the king."
Yesterday Paul was reunited with his wife Maria, 50, and sons Alex, 19, and Nick, 16, after 17 days in the Australian rainforest.
After a hot bath and a pint of Guinness, he had a 40-minute session with a psychologist - a routine assessment for all celebrities exiting the jungle.
He said: "Being in the jungle was my therapy. I had the time of my life and it has been a cathartic experience.
"What mattered to me was that the viewers saw the real Paul Burrell and not the person I have been perceived to be by some and that I didn't fail or let myself down.
"The space out there allowed me time to think and the challenges allowed me to conquer my fears and surpass my own expectations.
And the public voted me a close second. I couldn't be happier with the outcome."
Relaxing in his £800-a-night hotel suite with its own private pool, Paul reflected on what his jungle success meant to him.
He said: "I have known some horrendous lows in recent years but this has been such a high and what started out as a challenge became an adventure which became an incredible memory.
"It was an endurance test, it was exhausting and life could be hairy at times.
"But it was great fun and I would be daft enough to do it all over again.
"I went into the jungle as a rank outsider and with so much rubbish having been written about me, I honestly expected to be the first person voted out.
"I was chuffed to bits to find myself still there day after day.
"I never for a minute dreamed of being in the final two.
"It's incredible for me, a dream. It feels totally unreal and I'm overjoyed at surviving until the end."
Next year Paul will be a key witness at the British inquest into Diana's death - and he expects that to be his last royal duty.
He said: "Once the inquest has taken place, I will feel happier about moving on and doing my own thing."
From
The Mirror
