Name: Dean Gaffney

Age: 28

Celebrity Supporters: Calum Best, Richard Blackwood, Gary Lucy

Fears and Phobias: Creepy-crawlies

Special Skills: Holding conversation

It’s been three years since Dean Gaffney left his role as Robbie Jackson in EastEnders, but he is fondly remembered by many as the genial street-cleaner with a soft spot for his dog, Alsatian ‘Wellard’.

For 28-year-old Dean, journeying into the Australian rainforest will be taking him outside of his comfort zone.

“If I go outside the M25 I get a nosebleed,� jokes Dean. “The only type of camp I did when I was younger was a ‘father and son’ camp and it didn’t go too well. I’m just trying to prove to myself and my peers that I can last in the Australian rainforest.�

Dean, who has been a big fan of the show and is a good mate of last-year’s third-place celebrity Sid Owen, reveals that he hopes to surprise viewers with what he’s really like.

“The fact is I’m not saying I’m Brad Pitt. I’m not saying I’m Robert De Niro in the acting stakes. But people do automatically think, when my name gets mentioned, ‘Isn’t he the one who used to hang around with Jordan? Isn’t he the one who was so different to the character he played in EastEnders.’

“I think it would be nice to show people that actually that’s not me. The white van man out there thinks Dean Gaffney is a cokehead who parties every night with Page 3 models and generally doesn’t have a job and wants to be famous.

“It couldn’t be farther from the truth. I’ve never taken a drug in my life. I don’t want to be famous. I want to be successful in the career that I’ve taken, which is acting.

“Being in a show like EastEnders for 10 years, I’m not craving the admiration. I’ve had it and it will never go because I’ll always be recognised for EastEnders.�

Despite living near to nature himself, Dean admits he’s not a huge fan of creepy-crawlies: “Where we live in Surrey, we back onto a huge lake and we get loads of creepy-crawlies coming from the lake into the house.

“Even something as silly as a daddy long-legs, it should be easy especially as I’m a father, but I have to call a neighbour from a few doors away to come and get rid of it.

“When people who know me find out I’m going into the jungle, they’ll go ‘What the hell are you doing? You can’t do this’.â€?

However, Dean is prepared to give his best shot to every task presented to him: “I don’t want to let them down. I don’t want people to starve.�

Talking about the celebrities already resident in the jungle, Dean says that as a big Neighbours fan he’s looking forward to meeting Jason Donovan.

“When I was growing up I bought my first ever girlfriend a vinyl Jason Donovan record, so he’s a good reason behind me getting my first ever girlfriend.�

Courtesy Of ITV