Luna
29-11-2005, 10:02
JUNGLE beauty Kimberley Davies begged medics: “Am I paralysed?” after injuring herself jumping into a dam to win food on I’m A Celebrity.
The frightened actress pleaded with them: “Will I walk? Do you think I’ve broken my back?”
Aussie Kim, 32, fell awkwardly while trying to hold her nose during her second 15ft jump into water from a helicopter.
She was left so concussed she did not know who she WAS.
The terrified ex-Neighbours beauty was rushed to hospital by helicopter on a spinal board and wearing a neck brace.
An insider said: “The trial was to clamber out of the helicopter and land on a target to win stars for food.
“But she jumped awkwardly and fell smack on to the water. It was a really loud noise.
“A safety team dived straight in and pulled her to the surface. She wasn’t unconscious but she was very dazed and unable to swim. Kim was clearly in pain and was very, very dazed. She kept asking what was happening.
“She was too dazed to cry but you could hear the panic in her voice. She was terrified.
“When the medics arrived they were worried that she had seriously injured her spine.”
Kim — who managed to win two stars before injuring herself — was later diagnosed with a cracked rib and concussion.
The Hell-O-Drop stunt was witnessed by fellow contestant Sheree Murphy, 30. Last night she was “in tears”.
And The Sun can reveal insurers had REFUSED to OK the stunt until the 11th hour, branding it “too risky”.
They had wanted Kimberley to wear a flotation device as well as a harness.
Show chiefs have now launched an investigation into the trial fearing ex-model Kim may sue.
Her ordeal was made worse by an agonising 25 minute wait for an air ambulance.
planned bungee jump for Thursday’s show may now be cancelled.
An insider said: “We have a duty to look after these contestants and obviously something's gone really badly wrong.
“It could be curtains for I'm A Celebrity next year.”
Kim’s husband Dr Jason Harvey last night kept a bedside vigil after she was transferred to a private hospital in Brisbane.
But early this morning, show bosses told The Sun that Kim WILL return to the jungle — despite having seen her husband.
Under show rules, contact with the outside world normally rules contestants out of I’m A Celeb.
Producers last night attempted to play down the incident. The show’s medic Dr Bob McCarron said: “She is just very tired.”
ITV defended the stunt, saying Kim had “a full safety briefing beforehand” and told to “keep her arms down at her sides”.
But things went wrong during her second jump because her “elbow was at an angle”.
DJ Tony Blackburn, who won the show in 2002, last night hit out at TV chiefs over the accident. The 62-year-old told The Sun: “I’m horrified.
“These challenges are getting harder and harder than when I was doing it. I just hope they don’t get too extreme in a bid to win the ratings war.”
The frightened actress pleaded with them: “Will I walk? Do you think I’ve broken my back?”
Aussie Kim, 32, fell awkwardly while trying to hold her nose during her second 15ft jump into water from a helicopter.
She was left so concussed she did not know who she WAS.
The terrified ex-Neighbours beauty was rushed to hospital by helicopter on a spinal board and wearing a neck brace.
An insider said: “The trial was to clamber out of the helicopter and land on a target to win stars for food.
“But she jumped awkwardly and fell smack on to the water. It was a really loud noise.
“A safety team dived straight in and pulled her to the surface. She wasn’t unconscious but she was very dazed and unable to swim. Kim was clearly in pain and was very, very dazed. She kept asking what was happening.
“She was too dazed to cry but you could hear the panic in her voice. She was terrified.
“When the medics arrived they were worried that she had seriously injured her spine.”
Kim — who managed to win two stars before injuring herself — was later diagnosed with a cracked rib and concussion.
The Hell-O-Drop stunt was witnessed by fellow contestant Sheree Murphy, 30. Last night she was “in tears”.
And The Sun can reveal insurers had REFUSED to OK the stunt until the 11th hour, branding it “too risky”.
They had wanted Kimberley to wear a flotation device as well as a harness.
Show chiefs have now launched an investigation into the trial fearing ex-model Kim may sue.
Her ordeal was made worse by an agonising 25 minute wait for an air ambulance.
planned bungee jump for Thursday’s show may now be cancelled.
An insider said: “We have a duty to look after these contestants and obviously something's gone really badly wrong.
“It could be curtains for I'm A Celebrity next year.”
Kim’s husband Dr Jason Harvey last night kept a bedside vigil after she was transferred to a private hospital in Brisbane.
But early this morning, show bosses told The Sun that Kim WILL return to the jungle — despite having seen her husband.
Under show rules, contact with the outside world normally rules contestants out of I’m A Celeb.
Producers last night attempted to play down the incident. The show’s medic Dr Bob McCarron said: “She is just very tired.”
ITV defended the stunt, saying Kim had “a full safety briefing beforehand” and told to “keep her arms down at her sides”.
But things went wrong during her second jump because her “elbow was at an angle”.
DJ Tony Blackburn, who won the show in 2002, last night hit out at TV chiefs over the accident. The 62-year-old told The Sun: “I’m horrified.
“These challenges are getting harder and harder than when I was doing it. I just hope they don’t get too extreme in a bid to win the ratings war.”