Harry Redknapp's I'm A Celeb fears after wife Sandra's health battle and hospital dash

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Premier League icon Harry Redknapp previously had concerns about entering the jungle because of his wife, Sandra's, health. The ex-Tottenham Hotspur boss is primed to step back into the jungle for the new series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! South Africa , which begins on Monday evening.

The 79-year-old won the show in 2018 and often talked about his love for Sandra during his time in the Australian jungle. But Redknapp almost didn't take part in the series and became emotional when the show's bosses allowed him to be reunited with his wife, who had contracted sepsis , shortly before he entered the camp eight years ago.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition where the body struggles to fight infections. The ex-manager described the episode as "very scary," as Sandra was rushed to the hospital and admitted that his participation in the show was hanging in the balance.

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Harry said at the time: "What made it worse was just before I went on the show, Sandra had sepsis and was really ill, so I wasn’t going to go, you know. But then she improved, so I said any problems and I'm out of there straight away.

"Anyway, when they called me down to the Bush Telegraph of whatever they called it, they said, 'We want you out, you’ve got to leave the camp immediately.'

"I said, 'Why, what’s happened?' They said, 'We can’t tell you, you’ve got to go out, you’ve got to leave now'. So when I saw Sandra, it made it ten times worse as I thought there was a problem.

"I was terrified I was going to lose her and I nearly didn't get on the plane. But she wasn't having it – she wanted me to go. I'll never forget the moment she came into camp to see me. It was the first time she'd seen me cry."

The West Ham United hero subsequently launched a sepsis awareness campaign following Sandra's survival from the condition.

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In 2022, panic struck Harry again after Sandra struggled with breathing difficulties following a bout of Covid earlier that year. He told The Mirror : "The symptoms weren't good, if I'm truthful. You start to think about all kinds of sinister things."

Touching on her health battle, Sandra said: "You don’t realise what your vocal cords do until they’re not working, because it affects breathing as well as talking. The shortness of breath was very difficult. My voice would vibrate and was very weak."

Sandra and Harry's first date came at the Two Puddings pub in East London in 1963. They were married at St Margaret's Parish Church in Barking, East London, in June 1968.

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The pair have two children together - former Liverpool and Spurs midfielder Jamie, 52, and Mark, 55. Discussing how he met his other half in 2022, he said: "In some ways it feels like yesterday since I first set eyes on Sandra, but in other ways, we have been together for a lifetime."

Talking about their long relationship during his first stint on I'm a Celebrity , Harry opened up about his strong bond with his wife. He said: "Even when I'm out, I ring her ten times a day. She's my life. I'm a bit scared, actually, getting older.

"I do love her too much, if anything happened, it would just kill me. We just get on so well, I only want to be with her. I can never wait to see her."

I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here... South Africa starts on Monday, April 6, at 9pm on ITV1 and can also be streamed on ITVX.

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