Jesy Nelson Withdraws From Jungle Show

Jesy Nelson has pulled out of I'm A Celebrity..Get Me Out of Here! to care for her twin daughters after they were diagnosed with type 1 spinal muscular atrophy. A source told The Sun the decision came with a "very heavy heart." The former Little Mix singer, 35, disclosed in January that Ocean Jade and Story Monroe had the condition.

Nelson had been set to receive a six-figure appearance fee from ITV for the trip to Australia to film the show next month. The source said she was looking forward to the programme because it offered a platform for her work on SMA awareness. ITV is supporting her, according to the source, and the door remains open for her to take part at a later point.

Nelson has campaigned since January for SMA to be added to the newborn blood spot screening test, a new scheme that rolled out this month. SMA affects 60 to 70 babies born in England each year and can cause severe muscle weakness, which makes moving, breathing and swallowing difficult. Type 1 begins in babies under six months old.

When she announced the diagnosis, Nelson said her children were unlikely to walk or gain neck strength. In August she shared that they had undergone an operation to have their nasogastric feeding tubes removed. She posted photos of Ocean and Story in hospital beds afterward and wrote of one image: "I got their face back feels like a dream." The twins' mother is Nelson's former partner Zion Foster.

Nelson was among the names mentioned for the Ant and Dec-hosted series, alongside Wayne Rooney, Joanna Page and AJ Odudu. Metro contacted Nelson's representatives and ITV for comment.