‘I’ll probably be saying, ‘What the hell was I thinking?’’ A-list actor entering I’m A Celebrity revealed

She is one of Australia’s most respected actors. Now, we can reveal the identity of the newest cast member of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!

Forget SeaChange. Sigrid Thornton is gearing up to entertain TV viewers with the ultimate tree change.

The Australian stage and screen veteran is a surprise addition to the 11th season of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! when she joins the star-studded camp tomorrow night.

Thornton admits she hasn’t been an avid viewer of the series, which sees famous names set up camp in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, where they are subjected to all sorts of stomach-churning and terrifying challenges.

Nonetheless, she does not feel that puts her at a disadvantage. “I have a dear friend, Debra Lawrance, who did it a few years ago, so I know what it is and what it involves,” Thornton says with a wry laugh during a chat ahead of her departure.

“And so I thought: well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I really do like to keep myself guessing.

“I like to find out what I’m capable of in an uncomfortable setting. I think it’s a fascinating social experiment.”

Australian actor Sigrid Thornton is the latest star headed for the jungle on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! Picture: WireImage

‘I like to keep myself guessing!’ Picture: WireImage

To that end, bonding with the other 12 celebrities is what Thornton is most looking forward to about life in the jungle. “This is a bit of a long bow, but one of the things that I loved about working on SeaChange was that the theme of the show was: how do we, as people, get along?” she explains.

“We don’t necessarily know each other. We don’t necessarily even have any reason to like each other. But we must make do, and we must get along.”

Even so, The Man From Snowy River star acknowledges that her optimism and can-do attitude might take a hit once hunger and the homesickness for personal space and comfort set in.

As she admits, “By day three, I’ll probably be saying, ‘What the hell was I thinking?’ That said, I’m going in with my eyes wide open.

“I know the attitude and the approach that I want to take, and it is simply one of openness to new experiences. I will just embrace that as much as I can.”

‘I usually tell people I’ll eat anything …’ First look at Sigrid Thornton in her I’m A Celebrity jungle-bound outfit. Picture: Tina Smigielski

Robert Irwin and Julia Morris on the set of I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! Picture: Ten

This is the first time Thornton has participated in a reality show, and while it may seem like an extreme choice for a genre novice, she shrugs off that notion.

“This holds much more intrinsic interest for me than, say, Dancing With The Stars,” she says. “On that I could learn to dance, and that’s a very attractive proposition. But this is much more raw. I like that it forces everyone to be as open and transparent as they can. And it forces people to support one another in difficult circumstances.”

The timing also felt right. Having lost her mother, the academic and activist Merle Thornton – who famously chained herself to a Brisbane pub’s bar in 1965 to protest the ban on serving women drinks – after a long battle with Alzheimer’s in August last year, Thornton is keen to use her appearance on the show as a platform to raise awareness about the disease.

“My charity is Dementia Australia,” she says. “That is an issue I feel very strongly about, having lived so close to it for a long time.

“It’s a plague and, not to put too fine a point on it, it is something that we are all going to be touched by at some point in our lives – if not directly, then indirectly.”

A seasoned camper who has visited the African continent before, Thornton also isn’t fazed by unfamiliar insects, a lack of creature comforts or the prospect of roughing it in the scrub.

In fact, she is “invigorated” by the prospect of not having to worry about her hair, make-up or wardrobe.

“Far from being a fussy eater, I usually tell people I’ll eat anything,” she adds.

“Whether that applies to pig’s anus, I don’t know.”

I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! airs tonight at 7pm, and then Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm, on Network 10, and is also available on 10Play.

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Originally published as ‘I’ll probably be saying, ‘What the hell was I thinking?’’ A-list actor entering I’m A Celebrity revealed