I'm A Celebrity 2011's Lorraine Chase: Child abuse, the lover who shattered her heart and why she can't bear to be parted from her teddy

A little-known fact about I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! is that there is always a psychiatrist lurking in the wings, charged with making sure none of the celebs descends TOO far into madness during the jungle trials.

Some years — like last year, when Gillian McKeith inexplicably declared herself pregnant at the age of 51 — it must be quite a busy job.

Yet actress Lorraine Chase was still a little taken aback when the resident shrink asked to have a quiet word with her during her time in the Australian bush. She must have been the only one who was surprised.

'I lost a stone in the time I was in there, and everyone was getting concerned about it,' said Lorraine Chase of her time in I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

At times, Lorraine’s behaviour in the jungle seemed — how to put this politely? — a little eccentric. Not least, her habit of carrying a teddy bear with her at all times, and crying at the prospect of being parted from it.

Surprisingly, that’s not what troubled the psychiatrist. What was concerning the programme makers was the fact that former model Lorraine was fading away before their very eyes.

‘I lost a stone in the time I was in there, and everyone was getting concerned about it. And they were worried about me being so deflated. They’d noticed me sleeping more, and not having any energy.

‘The doctor and the psychiatrist summoned me to talk about it, and they basically gave me an ultimatum. I had to eat some high energy bars and energy drinks to get my strength back up, or they would pull me out of there.’

'It was quite a blow for a woman who declares herself ‘one of life’s survivors’.

‘It was shocking, actually. I’d always thought I was a very fit person, but physically everything was very demanding. You’d climb a few steps, and feel like you’d done an hour in the gym.

'And mentally too. There is a psychological battle that goes on in the jungle, with you being pitched against the powers-that-be. I found it very hard — much harder than I anticipated.

‘At first I refused when they asked me to eat the energy bar. I said I wouldn’t eat anything that the others didn’t because it went against the whole ethos of the show. But there was no option, and I had to do it if I wanted to stay in.

‘So I ate it — and cried the whole way through because I thought I was letting everyone down.’

'There is a psychological battle that goes on in the jungle, with you being pitched against the powers-that-be,' said

Most female celebs are thrilled when the scales tell them how much weight they have lost in the jungle. But — as quickly became clear — Lorraine Chase, one-time star of the Campari ‘Luton Airport’ ad, isn’t most female celebs.

For starters, she says, she hasn’t succumbed to the surgeon’s knife in order to keep her career going.

‘I’m a 60-year-old who looks 60, and I’m quite happy with that,’ she says, gleefully.

‘As you can see, I am a small-busted lady. I could have bought myself new boobs — it’s easy these days, isn’t it? — but I haven’t.

‘I don’t worry about those sort of things. In fact, I found it fantastic to not be able to wear make-up in the jungle. I liked the fact that I didn’t have to get up and put my eyebrows on. And not having to stand in front of the wardrobe wondering what to put on was a blessed relief.’

It’s only now she’s out of the jungle, though, that she’s realised the toll the show has taken on her body.

‘My jeans just hang off me now and look terrible. I always had a good derriere before.’

In fact, she has dropped from an already slender 8?st to 7? — the same weight she was when she was modelling in her 20s.

‘I was that weight naturally back then. Mind you that was in the days when people became models because they were naturally skinny. These days it is the opposite way round — girls diet to become models.’

Lorraine has dropped from an already slender 8?st to 7? - the same weight she was when she was modelling in her 20s

It was not her physical frailty but her emotional vulnerability that made her the stand-out star of this year’s Jungle. Viewers were either shocked, touched, or appalled (depending on your viewpoint) by her devotion to her bear, Tedward.

Now that she has been voted out, she is surprised to learn that he caused such a stir.

‘I had no idea it would be such a big thing. To me, he’s just my little bear and I take him everywhere. I sleep with him. I travel with him. If I’m on a flight, he comes in my hand luggage and I take him out when it is time to sleep.’

When fellow contestant Pat Sharpe threatened to kidnap and burn Tedward, to punish Lorraine, it caused deep divisions in camp, with Lorraine — who was looking more and more fragile as the episode unfolded — ending up in tears.

Was she genuinely distraught?

‘I was upset, but to be honest, I didn’t know a lot about what was going on. I only found out when Crissy (her fellow contestant, actress Crissy Rock) told me.

‘She understood what Tedward meant to me because she too had a doll that she kept on a stand and bought clothes for. I think she attached the feelings she had for her doll to Tedward. He touched her life in some way.

When Lorraine started modelling, it was more out of necessity than any great career ambition

'We are kindred souls, me and Crissy. We both had quite difficult starts in life — her more than me — and we recognised that in each other.’

Quite how the resident psychiatrist might unravel all this is anyone’s guess, but it cannot be coincidence that both women shared a common bond in their painful childhoods.

Lorraine’s upbringing sounds particularly grim. Her father was in and out of prison during her formative years, there was very little money around, and Lorraine endured abuse at the hands of an uncle.

When she started modelling, it was more out of necessity than any great career ambition. She recalls cashing her pay cheques at the local sweet shop because she didn’t have a bank account.

The big break — which catapulted her into an acting career — was when she was cast in THAT Campari ad. When asked if she had been ‘wafted in from Paradise’; she famously said in her best Cockney accent ‘nah, Luton airport’ — and her professional future was secure.

Since then there have been acting roles in shows such as Worzel Gummidge and The Other ’Arf and, more recently, she starred in Emmerdale. If her childhood was bleak, then the last few years have not been kind to Lorraine either.

In 1997, her ‘best friend’ and former partner Johnny Knight died after a long battle with cancer, leaving her devastated. Just a few years later, she almost died herself when her car plunged 30ft off a bridge and she had to have part of her ear sewn back on.

So is her attachment to Tedward a way of giving herself a sense of security?

She tells me that he relates to a very difficult, painful period of her life when she was recovering from a doomed, and difficult relationship — one that took her to the edge.

Though she won’t go into detail, she explains that Tedward was bought for her last year, as a replacement for another bear which had been given to her by a man who was her great love.

‘I’d had that first bear for, oh, 20 years or so, and when the relationship ended I knew I had to give it back.

'As long as I had it, I knew I would keep hanging on, thinking I could make the relationship work, and I’d already hung on in that relationship for ten years too long.

‘Clearly the man didn’t have the wherewithal to say “I don’t want to be with you any more”. He just made my life a misery. But I was distraught sending the first bear back. Tedward was sent to me at a time when I was at my real lowest.’

'I'm a 60-year-old who looks 60, and I'm quite happy with that... I found it fantastic to not be able to wear make-up in the jungle,' said Lorraine

Even so, is she bothered that some think it peculiar for a grown woman to have such an attachment to a bear?

‘No, I don’t really care. It’s nothing to do with anyone else anyway. It is my business.

‘I am a funny old fossil, and always have been. What people saw there was just me, really. I am a bit ditzy.

‘I don’t seem to think in the same way as other people. I can’t put a finger on what is different, but my brain just doesn’t work the same way. Often I don’t get a joke. I’m not an air-head, though. I think I’m just wired differently.’

When you look at everything she has had to contend with in life, it’s hardly surprising that Lorraine seems, as she puts it ‘not quite of this world’.

Today, she lives alone in London, in a house filled with memorabilia, and describes herself as a ‘terrible hoarder’. She says she still has unhappy moments, but it is not in her nature to let herself be consumed by them.

‘The reason I’ve got this far in life is that I’ve never allowed myself to be a victim. Once you do that you are lost.

'Yes, I have bad days still. Some days I get up and don’t feel quite able to face the world. I lock the door, watch black and white movies all day, feel sorry for myself. But the next I think, “OK, enough”. I think in life you have to keep looking ahead.’

That’s exactly what she is doing now. As soon as the wrap party is over in Oz, and her filming commitments are done, she is off on holiday to the Great Barrier Reef — ‘for my next adventure’.

Tedward is going too, obviously. But he might be in for a rude awakening. 

‘I think he’s actually getting a bit above himself now, he’s getting so much attention,’ she giggles. ‘He’ll be expecting his own chat show next!’

Jimmy Savile's secret lover Sue Hymns talks of their VERY unconventional life together

The first meeting between Sue Hymns and Jimmy Savile is recorded faithfully in her diary, dated September 23, 1968.

‘Saw Jimmy Savile at the hospital,’ the entry reads. ‘Met him again at 5.15pm and he gave me a lift to the bus stop in his taxi.’

Back then, Sue was a stunningly pretty 18-year-old on her way to a doctor’s appointment at Leeds General Infirmary, while Savile — thanks to his role as presenter of Top Of The Tops — was Britain’s most famous DJ.

Final embrace: Sir Jimmy Savile and Sue Hymns' last date at their favourite pizza restaurant, two months before his death at the age of 84

But on the day in question, Savile was doing a shift as a volunteer porter at the city’s hospital — part of the charitable works that were already as much a feature of his life as the platinum hair, the eccentric outfits and cigars.

The first words he ever spoke to her were: ‘Now then, now then.’ Yes, really.

As chat-up lines go, it may not have been the most seductive. But that chance meeting led to a relationship that was to last, on and off, right up until Savile’s death in October aged 84.

A relationship which Sue describes as being as close as any marriage, yet which remained hidden from all but the star’s dearest friends.

Widely regarded as perennially single, Savile would bat away questions about his private life.

While he would often speak movingly of his relationship with his late mother, Agnes — whom he called ‘the Duchess’ — there was never any mention of a girlfriend, leading to much cruel speculation about his sexuality.

It is to lay such gossip to rest that Sue has taken the decision — after being tracked down by the Daily Mail — to break her 43-year silence and tell, for first time, the moving story of her romance with ‘Jim’, as she called him.

After much soul-searching, she has concluded that it would serve Savile’s memory better to ‘set the record straight’ rather than allow unkind rumour to tarnish his memory.

Sue and Jimmy in 1969 at the Yorkshire Evening Post. The first words he ever spoke to her were: 'Now then, now then.' Yes, really

Indeed, she is still astonished they managed to keep the relationship secret for so long, especially in the later years.

For while she and Savile drifted apart in the Seventies, during which Sue embarked on an ill-fated marriage and had a daughter, their relationship intensified in 1991 and they remained a couple — albeit an unconventional one — to the end.

‘The funny thing is that Jim and I went out and about in Leeds all the time and must have been photographed hundreds of times by fans,’ Sue says.

‘Everyone had this idea that Jim was single, and they must have thought I was his secretary or something. Sometimes people would ask who I was and Jim would say: “Oh, this is Sue, she’s my cleaner.”

‘Our relationship was private for so long — Jim didn’t feel the need to advertise it to the wider world — but so much rubbish has been said about him that I think people should know the truth.

'Our relationship was unconventional, but it lasted longer than many marriages’.

When we meet at Sue’s immaculate flat in South-West London, the evidence of their mutual affection is plain to see. Photographs of her and Jim together over the years adorn the walls: a faded shot of them in a Leeds caf?, not long after they met; another dressed up together for a Lord Mayor’s banquet.

The final one, at their favourite restaurant, The Flying Pizza in Leeds, was taken just two months before he died.

Now an elegant 61-year-old, Sue works as a PA at a health company. Still strikingly attractive, it is easy to see why Savile was attracted to her all those years ago.

Recalling that first encounter, she says: ‘I saw him and thought: “Oh my God, it’s Jimmy Savile, please don’t talk to me.” I was only 18 then, and he was so famous.

‘He did his “now then, now then” routine — Jim never said hello — and I tried to think of something to say. I mentioned a friend called Ray whom I knew Jim had taught to DJ, and Jim replied: “Let’s not talk about Ray; let’s talk about you.”’

'Jim had decided early on that because of his showbiz lifestyle, marriage and children would never work,' said Sue (pictured above in 1969)

A few weeks later, they met up at the InTime nightclub in Leeds, and Savile dropped Sue home. More dates followed and, little by little, despite the 23-year age gap, they grew closer.

‘Our first dates were in Leeds, dinner at The Queens hotel,’ recalls Sue.

‘Because of who he was, I felt rather nervous in the beginning.

‘In public, he was gregarious, but the real Jim was a serious man, quite intense, quite a philosopher.

‘In 43 years of knowing him, I never once heard him talk about music. But he had tremendous charisma and I found him very intriguing. It was a very carefree, exciting time.’

The romance developed into a full, physical relationship and over the next couple of years, Sue and Jim saw each other regularly,  meeting up at a caf? opposite Leeds General Infirmary, or in London when Savile had filming commitments.

‘When he did Top Of The Pops, I would meet Jim in London for the show and then we would spend the night at a hotel — nothing too swanky. Jim was always careful with money.’

If he was never open about their relationship, he didn’t hide Sue away, either.

Once, Savile was invited to open new offices for the Yorkshire Evening Post and persuaded  Sue to go with him and pose  alongside him wearing a mini skirt and boots.

‘I think he even had his hand up my skirt,’ she says, laughing at the memory.

That first phase of their relationship came to an end in 1970, when Sue moved to Munich, where her sister was living with her husband.

Three years later, Sue moved to London and met her husband, an advertising executive, whom she married in 1975. They had a daughter, Lindsay, now 35, but divorced in 1983.

‘We weren’t compatible and grew apart,’ Sue says.

Single again, she moved back to Leeds and had a four-year relationship with a mill owner. She often thought of Savile, but it was not until 1991 that she bumped into him in a restaurant — and they soon resumed their romance.

'He (Jimmy) wouldn't go to the cinema or theatre, and he always went on cruises alone or with a couple of the men from the Leeds crowd,' said Sue

They would remain ‘an item’ until Savile’s death five weeks ago. Though they never lived together, they spent many happy times together and kept in close contact even when Jim’s work commitments took him away from Leeds.

‘We saw each other three times a week when he was in town, and would speak on the phone when he was away. I worked full-time as a PA, so we didn’t meet during the day, but we’d go out in the evenings.

‘I would go to his flat at about 7pm so we could have a proper chat before we went out and he became “Jimmy Savile the showman”. When we were alone, he was affectionate and tactile, but not so much when we were out. It was like being with two different people.

‘But in a way it was like a marriage. We went so far back that Jim could be himself with me.’

If others inquired about their relationship, Jim would bat away the question with a joke. Once, at a charity function, they met Coronation Street actress Liz Dawn, who politely asked Savile who his companion was.

‘He said: “Oh, this is Sue. I found her in the street one day, homeless.”’

‘She looked at me and said:  “Oh love, oh you poor darling.”’

While some women may have resented being kept in the shadows, Sue says it never bothered her. Even so, did she not harbour hopes that they would move in together — marry, even?

‘Jim had decided early on that because of his showbiz lifestyle, marriage and children would never work,’ she explains.

‘But our relationship this time round moved on to a more mature level.’

Besides, she says, the arrangement suited her.

‘I had my daughter and didn’t want another man moving in, although Jim got on very well with Lindsay and came to her 18th birthday party.’

And so their relationship continued — together but apart — with Sue making regular visits to Savile’s penthouse flat in Leeds.

‘The lift went right up to the penthouse,’ she says. ‘I’d get out of the lift and he’d be standing there in his dressing gown and he’d say: “I have purposely kept my dressing gown on to see what you are wearing so we can colour co-ordinate”.

'He was frugal and would use tea bags three times,' said Sue

‘Jim often had friends over, people from Leeds he’d known all his life, and we would sit round chatting, having a drink, though Jim didn’t drink until 1997, when he had a quadruple heart bypass operation and was advised by his doctor to drink one glass of wine a day.

‘He lived on toast most of the time.

'He was frugal and would use tea bags three times. When we went to restaurants we always got a doggy bag for leftovers.’

He was certainly not one for romantic gestures, either.

‘He never bought me anything,’ says Sue, ‘but he always paid for dinner and used to top up my car with petrol. I said to him once: “You don’t like spending money, do you?” And he said: “No, I like saving it.”

‘I didn’t buy him presents, either, though I did loan him my exercise bike, which he kept.’

Contrary to the perception of Savile being a recluse, Sue says he had hundreds of friends — it’s just he grouped them into ‘boxes’.

One ‘box’ comprised his friends in Glencoe, Scotland, where he had a cottage. Another was made up of friends in Scarborough, his favourite seaside town.

He also had a small circle in London, where he owned a flat near Regent’s Park. Then there was the friends through his TV and charity work. Sue was part of the Leeds set; and when he spent time with his other ‘boxes’, she didn’t ask questions about who he was with.

‘There may have been other women — I didn’t ask,’ she shrugs.

If it sounds a curious arrangement, Sue says that while she found the relationship with Savile physically fulfilling, she had long given up trying to discuss ‘feelings’.

‘Jim did have emotions, but he couldn’t show them. If I said to him: “I’ve missed you,” he’d reply: “Come on, it’s me you’re talking to.”’

Even so, she says that as the years wore on, she did miss aspects of more conventional relationships.

‘He wouldn’t go to the cinema or theatre, and he always went on cruises alone or with a couple of the men from the Leeds crowd.

‘Jim had this idea that being a DJ and television presenter meant he had to give the impression of being single. He was doing it right to the end, flirting with women, kissing their hands. I’d be thinking: “Come on Jim, you’re 80!” But as he got older there’d be times when he would show his feelings. I think he needed more.’

He was upset when Sue moved to London, seven years ago, to be nearer her daughter and two grandchildren, making it harder for her and Savile to be together.

‘Jim was grumpy about it. I think if he had asked me not to go, I wouldn’t have, but he couldn’t say it. But he did say to a friend once: “You know she left me? I would never have left her.” That upset me. 

‘But we got back into a routine of me going up to Leeds once or twice a month, and after that he became more affectionate. ’

Their last date together was in late August, when they went for dinner at their favourite pizza restaurant in Leeds. By then, Savile was in poor health.

‘When I walked into the flat he gave a little sigh and said: “Oh, you’re back at last.” He was very slow, he had little energy.’

The following month, Savile fell ill with pneumonia and spent ten days in hospital. Sue spoke to the ward sister every day but was reassured that Jim was getting better, so she didn’t rush up.

‘When he came out of hospital, we agreed I would go up to see him when he was feeling well again — he really hated anyone seeing him when he was poorly.’

Sadly, on Saturday, October 29, two days before his 85th birthday, Savile passed away. Sue learned of his death by text. ‘I was out shopping with a friend and had just said: “I must call Jim when I get home”, when I received a text message from a friend saying he’d been found dead at the flat.

‘I couldn’t believe it. I bought the papers the next morning and he was on the front pages, and I just thought: “Oh no, that’s my Jim”, and I cried.’

Sue travelled to Leeds on the Monday, Savile’s birthday, where she was one of the few close friends allowed to see Savile’s partially open coffin when his body was lying ‘in state’ at The Queens hotel.

‘I wasn’t sure whether to go, but I’m glad I did, that I saw him one last time,’ she says.

And she was there, of course, at his funeral at St Anne’s Cathedral.

‘I remember being in the cathedral and not connecting this big event to my Jim. I’m still struggling to take in the fact that he’s gone. I haven’t grieved properly yet.

‘Jim was a kind, loyal and principled man. He never took, he only gave. He was never miserable, and if he was unwell, he wouldn’t show it. He really was a one-off.’

In her darker moments, Sue has been comforted by an exchange she and Savile had on their last evening together at their favourite restaurant.

‘A member of staff had offered to take our picture. She joked: “Look lovingly at each other.” and Jim said quietly to me: “I don’t know what it would be like to be loved.”

‘I hesitated, but then I said: “Well, I love you.” And he replied: “Yeah, I know you do.”

‘That is so important to me that I did that. You know, I’m sure he set me up to say it. In all the years we had together, he’d never let me tell him I loved him.