Soldier Brother Of 'I’m A Celebrity' Runner-Up Jordan North Is 'Overwhelmed' By Support

The soldier brother of ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ runner-up Jordan North has told Forces News the whole family is incredibly proud of his achievements. 

Radio 1 DJ Jordan came second to Giovanna Fletcher in the final of the ITV show last night.

Colour Sergeant Ryan North, originally from 2 PARA and now an instructor at Sandhurst, told Forces News: “We’re overwhelmed. Although he wasn’t the winner, he’s the winner in our eyes.”

Jordan became well known on the reality series for going to his ‘happy place’ during particularly challenging trials.

He said on the show: “My brother’s a paratrooper, and he said to me ‘no matter how scared you are, no matter how cold you are, go to your happy place’.”

“I think that’s what they do in the Army, I might be wrong. When I was in that box, I just had to say it out loud.”

Jordan's brother told Forces News: “He can be very anxious and scared of his own shadow so we talked and I just said to him ‘whenever you’re suffering’…’when you’re cold, when you’re wet, just go to that happy place, block it out and go to your happy place’ and obviously in that instance, Turf Moor was his happy place.”

Turf Moor is the home ground of Burnley FC, the football team Jordan supports.

His luxury item in the Welsh castle camp was his Burnley FC scarf.

Jordan comes from a military family with his brother Ryan having served in Iraq and Afghanistan and his father Graham served in The Queen’s Lancashire Regiment from 1982 to 2006.

CSgt Northsays his colleagues in the Army have responded “really well” to his brother’s appearance on the reality show.

“It’s really been overwhelming the amount of support he’s got.

“Especially the military environment, sometimes it has people look at it from the outside as that macho-looking thing, but they’ve all really come together, and they’ve become part of the wider family.”

When asked if he thinks his brother could make a paratrooper, he said: “If you had have asked me before he’d have gone into the castle, I would’ve said absolutely not.

“When we get them [recruits] through the door, they’re not at the level we need them to be at.

“We train – that’s what the Army is there to do.

“Jordan has shown that, like anyone, they can adapt, and they can overcome and they can mould into what they need to be to get through a tricky situation.”

He added that Jordan could be ready to try P company – the infamous para recruitment test.

“I’d be more than up for that,” he said.

“I think he would need to go to his happy place quite a few times there though!”

CSgt North says what makes his family unique is the “diversity within the family”.

“I am extremely proud to serve my country and for him, he’s extremely proud to entertain a nation.

“We’re close knit as a family and I think that’s what keeps him grounded.

“His dream was to be on Radio 1 – he’s living that dream, but he’s still Jordan, my younger brother.

“I still see him as the young lad that used to follow me around everywhere,” he added.