Magic Radio Breakfast presenters Harriet Scott and Harry Judd were joined by Danny Jones this morning on Magic Radio Breakfast with King of the Jungle Danny – or Mush to his bandmate – telling Harry he could refer to him as your Majesty now!
Danny shared some jungle secrets with the pair including how he started scavenging food from his campmates, showing a more vulnerable side of himself and how he made himself ill when he left camp…
Danny on jungle life: ‘Time is so slow in the jungle but it’s like you’re on speed friendships because you get to know someone so deeply, so quickly, you know them inside out. All you’ve got to do is look each other in the eye and chat – there’s no phones, no distractions, there’s a beautiful stream in the background and the jungle noises become so therapeutic. You get comfortable with being really uncomfortable and it was only couple of days in that I was thinking ‘right I’m just forgetting to have a shower there’s no point trying to get clean.’
The first three or four days I was freaking out and then that rainstorm came and it was a real deep depression. It was like ‘this is hard’ and we really relied on each other to get through it. Oti was amazing, she was so happy and positive and I was trying to being that energy as well even though deep down we were all really struggling.’
Danny on his jungle calorie count: ‘It’s one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. The boredom is real, the hunger is real – we’re on 500 calories a day with no stars. If you get one or two stars you’re getting a wallaby leg or an eel with a few bits of veg, so the calories don’t go up much.
I remember [bandmate and former King of the Jungle] Dougie saying to me ‘you’re going to be picking up other people’s rations and eating from their chewed bones’ and I did that! And I have never done that ever, I’m the fussiest eater… Oti was chewing on a bone and she’d had enough and I said ‘Oti are you finished? Can I have a chew on that bone?’ I was so hungry! You want to get out to a trial because you are bored and lethargic and the trials give you an adrenaline boost but then you’re thinking what I have got myself in for here…’
Danny on showing another side of himself: ‘The jungle mind is really mindful and you’re going to sleep really well as there’s no devices. After that first week I had some of the best sleeps I’ve ever had in my life, even though there was mice and frogs and all sorts running over me in the night… I obviously showed a side of me that only my nearest and dearest see and I feel on top of the world with the support and the connection that I’ve had.’
Danny on his first meals when he left camp: ‘I came back to the hotel and had two breakfasts – I had a banana bread sandwich with fruit, maple syrup and cream. I doubled that up with a baked croissant, egg, halloumi and avocado sandwich with a cup of tea. From there I went into a vanilla milkshake, then I did another crispy chicken burger and chips. In the evening I had chicken and mushroom pasta and then for two days I had to take Imodium. I was so ill it was unbelievable….
