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AJ Pritchard's gran has died – but he won't be told until leaving 'I'm A Celebrity'

AJ Pritchard poses for photographers upon arrival at the Brit Awards in London, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
AJ Pritchard poses for photographers at the 2019 Brit Awards in London. (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

There will be sad news waiting for AJ Pritchard when he leaves the I’m A Celebrity camp – his grandma has died.

But when AJ’s brother Curtis Pritchard shared the family’s loss on Instagram, he revealed that former Strictly Come Dancing star AJ had asked not to be told if the worst happened until he left the show.

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Ex-Love Island contestant Curtis posted a favourite photo of himself and his grandma together and wrote: “Life is beautiful, life is incredible, life is magical...But sadly it doesn’t last forever. RIP, I love you Nanna.”

In a long post about losing his grandma, Curtis explained why he wouldn’t be sending a message to AJ in the camp about their loss.

He wrote: “It is following our grandad's wishes that myself and AJ are to carry on with the current projects we are committed to.

"Grandad said to myself and AJ that it would break his heart for us to stop what we were doing as Nanna had such pride in our work.

The brothers were close to their grandma (Photo by Jo Hale/Redferns)
The brothers were close to their grandma. (Jo Hale/Redferns)

"AJ therefore discussed with the family before entering the castle that if something did happen to Nanna whilst he was away, that he wouldn't want to be told until he left the castle and that in her honour he would complete his commitment to the show, with a view to doing her and the family proud.

"As Grandad and Nanna would have wished for, AJ will stay in the castle and continue making her proud wherever she is watching from."

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He went on: "AJ has so much more to give to the show and we know that Nanna will be watching and guiding him throughout the final part of his journey on the programme.

"We know we have made the right decision for everyone involved."

Curtis also said that like many families who have lost a loved one in 2020, they were extremely limited on how many people were able to say a final goodbye.

He wrote: “COVID has made this time even harder as only two family members had the chance to see Nanna and hold her hand as she passed away in hospital on Friday.”

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The dancer and reality TV star reminisced about his favourite memories of his grandmother, saying her efforts to make sure her family started off the day with a good breakfast had stayed with him and AJ throughout their lives.

In last night’s episode of I’m A Celebrity, AJ was shown choosing two of his campmates to receive messages from loved ones at home during a trial.

He picked Sir Mo Farah and Jessica Plummer, who talked about how grateful they were to AJ.

I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! continues on Monday at 9pm on ITV.

Watch: AJ Pritchard and Shane Richie squabble on I’m A Celeb