She broke down in tears while revealing that she signed up for I’m A Celebrity to honour her beloved father Tom, who passed away in March.
And it has emerged that Jennie McAlpine is also harbouring secret heartache for her mum Linda Garner, who choked to death on Christmas day when Jennie was just 20.
The Coronation Street star, 33, has planted a tree in her mother’s memory and is reportedly planning to hold a memorial for her when she leaves the jungle.
Tragic: It has emerged that Jennie McAlpine is harbouring secret heartache for her mum Linda Garner, who choked to death on Christmas day when Jennie was just 20
Linda died of progressive supranuclear palsy, a severe degenerative illness, during a time when she and Jennie were not as close.
Her bereaved husband Robin Parker, 73, explained to The Sunday Mirror that Linda was diagnosed with the illness when Jennie was just 17.
Jennie, who played Fiz Brown on Coronation Street for 16 years, found the diagnosis ‘hard’ to handle after years of seeing her mother’s symptoms.
‘Jennie didn’t see her mum much during the years she was degenerating,’ Robin told the Mirror.
Memory: The Coronation Street star, 33, has planted a tree in her mother’s memory and is reportedly planning to hold a memorial for her when she leaves the Australian jungle
‘It was an awful illness, one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. You stop being able to open your eyes properly, she had to have Botox injections.
‘Jennie knew all about it and it was difficult for her – no child would want to see their mother go through that. She kept her distance, not for any nasty reason, it was just one of those things.”
Linda and Jennie’s dad Tom split when she was a child, and she chose to live with her father. When Jennie was eight in 1992, Linda met Robin.
Robin explained that there was ‘no bad blood’ between them all and that Jennie would still go round to their flat.
‘They still did things together. They’d do the normal mother and daughter things – shopping and things like that,’ he said.
Awful: Linda’s bereaved husband Robin Parker, 73, explained that Linda was diagnosed with a severe degenerative illness when Jennie was just 17
Jennie did not attend Robin and Linda’s wedding, but she and dad Tom were there at Linda’s funeral, according to Robin.
She and Robin have planted a tree for Linda at the Life for a Life memorial forest in Rochdale and have reportedly talked about building a memorial.
It comes after Jennie cried on Wednesday night’sI’m A Celebrity, after revealing she signed up for the show in memory of her late father.
And after watching Jennie McAlpine’s emotional scenes, her family showed their full support for the actress by sharing a poignant snap of her son Albert with her late dad Tom.
‘He will be so proud of you’: Jennie’s family showed their full support for the actress by sharing a poignant snap of her son Albert with her late dad Tom after she cried over his death on I’m A Celebrity
Her relatives posted a black and white Instagram shot of the pair holding hands and reassured that Tom – who passed away on March 2 – is ‘so proud’ of her.
They wrote in the caption: ‘Oh Jennie…. He will be so proud of you #GoForItJennieWren #proud @itvimacelebrity #ImACeleb.’
Sympathetic fans flocked to the comments section to offer their condolences and send their well wishes to Jennie.
‘My heart aches for her. And this is a beautiful photo. One your beautiful boy will treasure forever,’ one wrote.
‘I cried with Jennie. What an incredible man Tom was. So proud to have known him. He’s so proud of you Jennie. Xxx,’ another added.
Tribute: The snap comes after Jennie broke down in tears on Wednesday night’s I’m A Celebrity, after revealing she signed up for the show in memory of her late father
A third fan claimed they met and had counselling with Tom and hailed him a ‘lovely man’ with a ‘heart of gold’.
‘Only just heard about your dad Tom,’ they wrote. ‘He was a lovely man with a heart of gold who did everything he could to help people with mental health issues that struggle.
‘I had the pleasure of meeting him and had counselling with him. So sad to hear… god only takes the best ones! So sorry for your loss Jennie. He will be so proud of you and he thought very highly of you and it shown! RIP Tom.’
Heartbreak: She said: ‘I lost my dad earlier this year. We were like best friends, so he would have told me to do it’
The touching snap comes after Wednesday’s episode showed Jennie struggling to fight back her tears as she revealed her dad would have wanted her to take part, and had always encouraged her to ‘do things she was not brave enough to do.’
The rest of camp were quick to comfort her after her breakdown, with Jamie assuring: ‘He’d be really proud of you for doing this darling.’
The camp mates had been discussing why they chose to head into the jungle, when the upsetting incident occurred.
RIP: Jennie’s father Tom passed away in March. He was a mental health campaigner, and was even awarded an OBE for his services (pictured together at the British Soap Awards in 2013)
When asked the question by Dennis, Jennie began: ‘Yeah, it’s been a funny old year…’ before the tears started to fall.
As the rest of her co-stars rushed around her, she explained through watery eyes that her father had passed away in 2017, and was doing the show in tribute to him.
She said: ‘I lost my dad earlier this year. We were like best friends, so he would have told me to do it.
Emotional: ‘I said before I came, ‘He would have always told me to do things that I’m not brave enough to do,’ she added
Stay strong: Clearly affected by her story, her camp mates were quick to draw her in for a comforting hug
‘I said before I came, ‘He would have always told me to do things that I’m not brave enough to do.’
Clearly affected by her story, her camp mates were quick to draw her in for a comforting hug – with Jamie assuring: ‘He’d be really proud of you for doing this darling.’
Jennie’s father Tom was a mental health campaigner, and was even awarded an OBE for his services to the cause in 2012.
He sadly passed away at home on March 2, with Jennie, who is best known as Fiz Brown on Coronation Street, confirming the sad news on social media.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder: The 33-year-old was previously seen struggling to fight back her tears as she discussed how much she missed her husband Chris and son Albert, three