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Nick Knowles: Kent connections of DIY SOS star entering I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
14:30, 16 November 2018
updated: 15:09, 16 November 2018
TV's Nick Knowles is among the latest batch of stars set to brave the jungle in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
Yet many of his fans do not realise the the DIY SOS and Who Dares Wins presenter started his career in Kent.
A former pupil of the Skinners' School in Tunbridge Wells, he began his broadcasting career as a journalist at TVS and then Meridian, working from the studios in Vinters Park in Grove Green, now called the Maidstone Studios.
He was a regular at several Maidstone drinking holes and has previously told KentOnline he was “not backwards in coming forwards in going for a pint”.
The 56-year-old has returned to the county several times since, mainly on DIY SOS.
An episode filmed on Sheppey in 2016 saw his team build a bungalow from scratch to cater to three children with complex and life-limiting medical conditions.
It was the largest project ever undertaken by the programme and couple Kyle and Garry Ratcliffe and their four adopted children's new home in Brambledown was ready after nine days of hard work.
Mr Knowles joins a host of other names on their year's line up for the ITV show, including former football manager Harry Redknapp, West End and Doctor Who star John Barrowman and X Factor runner-up Fleur East.
He said: "In terms of being frightened of things it's not particularly something I have problems with. Maybe I'll find out what my weaknesses are.
"I think being put into an uncomfortable environment with people I wouldn't necessarily normally spend time with is an interesting test.
"Boredom is actually what drives people to end up falling out with each other and getting fed up and thinking about food.
"It could be an amazing Road to Damascus experience for me that happens in the Jungle where my life could take on a whole new meaning."
The first episode is broadcast at 9pm on Sunday on ITV.