Celebrity Hunted’s Christine McGuinness became the first female celebrity to win last night when she avoided capture from the hunters. The 36-year-old documentary-maker reveals that her experience has improved her life and given her a new sense of confidence while on the run with Blue’s Duncan James throughout the Channel 4 reality series. The best thing about it was realizing that I actually have more potential than I think I can, according to Christine, who was diagnosed with autism in 2021.
I’m much more capable than I think if I’m with the right person, someone who is understanding, and someone who cares. I doubt myself, I preempt a lot, and I probably put myself down more than I should. On the run, I realized that sometimes I’m just too hard on myself. But I don’t think I’ve done anything that’s made me feel so proud. I want my three autistic children to grow up knowing that nothing will stop them. I’m definitely getting things done more now.
Christine shares children – twins Leo and Penelope, 11, and eight year old Felicity – all who are autistic, with former husband and comic Paddy McGuinness. She has used the time she has had from her brood-taster Hunted to figure out what she wants to do with her single life since splitting from the presenter in 2022 and her later diagnosis of autism.
” It was just the best time, “she says”. It just really gave me that power to keep thinking, ‘ It’s never too late to get a new job, to get a new hobby, to make new friends, to start a new relationship. ‘ Because I wasn’t a mummy for a while, I realized all while I was out there. It gave me time to actually think, ‘ OK, what do I want to do? ‘ It was amazing. “
Since Joanne’s mother, Joanne, is still receiving breast cancer, the series was shot to benefit Stand Up To Cancer, a charity that Christine is deeply committed to. In fact, as an avid campaigner, the former model is often inundated with messages, largely by other autistic people, who have been moved by her honesty about the symptoms of the condition.
She says”, I get messages pretty much every single day on social media, mainly women watching the show and they’ll open up and just say, ‘ Thank you so much for sharing, because I felt like I was being dramatic or sensitive. ‘ I do receive lovely messages thanking us for allowing us to feel at ease. And it’s crazy that I feel like I should give thanks to everyone else because I don’t know if I would have continued if I hadn’t received those kind messages when I first mentioned my autism. Therefore, I must express my gratitude to everyone.
Christine now feels like she can take on the world because of the show’s experience. I would be open-minded to doing so much stuff now, “she tells Mirror”. Knowing that, wherever they may be, I’ll encounter difficulties. There’s always something. But I just think that no matter how scary it may be, especially now that Celebrity Hunted and I know how much I’ve gained from doing it, I wouldn’t be able to decline.
Source: Mirror
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