Kelly Brook’s £80k Comeback: Clever Jungle Strategy and Surprise Business Propel I’m A Celeb Success

She’s reportedly been paid £80,000 for her appearance on I’m A Celebrity. 

Yet Kelly Brook’s Jungle stint looks set to be more fruitful than an one-off pay cheque as she plans to use the show to make an epic career comeback. 

Once voted the ‘sexiest woman in the world’ by FHM thanks to her well-publicised size 8 body and 32E chest, Kelly now plans to show the world that she has brains as well as beauty. 

Her careful game plan has ensured that viewers will see more sides of her, as she gets ultimate exposure with her Jungle stint, while simultaneously launching an exciting new business.  

Having previously vowed to never do the show, Kelly plans to capitalise on her Jungle fame to launch an Italian food range with her husband, Jeremy Parisi.

According to the GOV.UK website, she has just filed papers with the UK’s Intellectual Property Office to trademark the name Parisi Arpino.

 

The legal papers reveal plans to sell ‘pizzas; pasta; pasta sauce’, plus olive oils, meats and cheeses.

Lawyers are still reviewing their application and the trademark will remain in place for 10 years once approved.

Daily Mail has contacted Kelly’s reps for comment. 

The move hints that Kelly is following in the footsteps of Italian actress Sophia Loren, who managed to turn her career round from sex symbol to business entrepreneur, having vowed she’s ‘not there for the male gaze anymore’.

Sophia, now 91, built her career on body confidence but was also relatable to the average woman, reportedly once declaring: ‘I’d rather eat pasta and drink wine than be a size zero.’

The screen siren also insisted carbs were the keys to her curves, quipping: ‘Everything you see I owe to spaghetti!’ 

Not only did she have the looks, but she also had the brain, launching an Italian restaurant called Sophia Loren Original Italian Food and creating lifestyle brands such as Sophia Loren Home. 

With body confident Kelly embracing her hourglass curves and now moving into the pasta business, the similarities are clear. 

Despite wanting to move away from being seen purely as a sex symbol, Kelly vowed to heat up the iconic Jungle shower with her selection of perfectly curated bikinis. 

In a play that will no doubt gain her plenty of screen time, and in turn more fans, she has had her bikinis screen tested to ensure they flatter her figure. 

Kelly told the Mail on Sunday: ‘I’ve got loads of different brands. I’ve got lots of different bikinis with me, so we haven’t actually selected the ones I’m going to be wearing in the jungle yet. 

‘They’ve all gone off to wardrobe to get tested on camera, so they’ll decide for me.’ 

The Kent-born beauty, who landed her first modelling job at 16, will turn 46 in the Jungle.

When asked how she felt about that, she said: ‘I feel really confident. I feel really strong. I feel like my body’s in, you know, in good shape. I just feel great. I mean, yeah, I’m 46 and I embrace my curves. I embrace my body.’

Kelly is planning to follow in the footsteps of fellow presenter, Myleene Klass, who got tongues wagging after wearing a flattering white bikini in the Jungle shower during her 2006 stint on the show.

The moment is engrained in I’m A Celebrity history and it’s widely believed the move helped Myleene, 47, win runner-up on the show so many celebrities have tried to replicate the effect.

Revealing she had spoken to Mylene ahead of her Jungle stint, the radio host said: ‘Myleene was actually, she did talk to me about the shower. 

‘She said that when she arrived, she actually had to run out and get a bikini. So I made sure that I packed plenty of swimsuits, so we had loads of options.

‘But, that white bikini that she wore, that iconic scene of her in the shower looking incredible, that was just that was not a pre planned thing.

‘I think it would be very difficult to try and recreate something like that, that was fate that was meant to be, and that was her moment.’

Yet Kelly made it clear that she also wants to showcase a different side to herself in the Jungle as she issued a warning for viewers ahead of the launch show.

She said: ‘I’m not a 20-year-old bikini model anymore. You know, I am a very different person. 

‘I am older, but I am still strong and I am still fit, and that is the most important thing.’

Kelly burst onto the glamour scene in 1997 and soon became adored by readers as a Page 3 icon.

Known for her big hair, short skirts and ample cleavage, Kelly became the ultimate sex symbol of the 90s.

She was gracing the covers of lads’ mags and frequently topping ‘Sexiest Women’ lists alongside contemporaries like Keeley Hazell and Rachel Stevens.

She also hit the headlines for her relationships over the years with actor Jason Statham, rugby stars Danny Cipriani and Thom Evans, and Gladiator David McIntosh.

By the time she reached her late 30s, Kelly had a complete overhaul – a far cry from the starlet who famously flashed her buttocks at a Guy Ritchie film premiere in 2000. 

The star no longer wanted to be associated with partying and dating ‘bad boys’ – and accepting her changing figure played a crucial role in adapting to her new life.

She explained: ‘I had been out the public eye for around 5 years, I had done bits and bobs but I had a lot of attention on me in my early 30s and then I moved to America, I did a TV show out there and when I came back, I just kind of squirrelled myself away in the countryside and lived with my boyfriend and we just tried to live a normal life.

‘All of a sudden, when I came into London again, it was a different kind of energy. I didn’t want that old life back. I was trying to find my place in the industry.

‘I don’t want to be a lingerie model, I don’t want to be this girl that owns a f***ing nightclub and bar in the West End and that’s out every night and dating bad boys.

‘What am I if I’m not a 23-year-old FHM model? Working with Keith Lemon as that sexy sidekick. What am I now?’

Thanks to her gig at Heart radio and being an ambassador for weight loss brand SlimFast, Kelly felt she had found her place again in the industry.

She said: ‘While I was living in Kent I worked at a local radio station and learned how to be a radio DJ. I reinvented myself to try and do something different.’

Kelly transitioned into acting, making waves in the film Sorted and landing a notable role in the American horror-comedy Piranha 3D (2010). 

She has also appeared on a range of TV shows, including Celebrity Juice, and Loose Women.

In recent years, Kelly has shifted her focus toward presenting and broadcasting, taking on more radio work and lifestyle projects.

In 2024, she decided to quit modelling after growing tired of posing for ‘the male gaze’.

She told The Sun: ‘It’s very hard having been a bikini model all through my 20s and then you hit 30 and they still want me to do calendars.

‘I’m married and I’m very happy being in my 40s.’

Kelly and her husband, Jeremy, met in 2014 after watching one of his Instagram videos.

The star fell for the French model after she reached out to him directly on Instagram, and the pair connected over their mutual love of martial arts and fitness training.

During the early days of their romance, Jeremy spoke very little English, with French and Italian being his primary languages.

The radio host took on the role of translator and admitted she can still speak on Jeremy’s behalf even now that he’s fluent in English.

The pair tied the knot in Italy in 2022.

Last year, Kelly revealed that the couple made a conscious decision not to have children together, but admitted the reality still weighs on her mind.

‘The time has probably run out, I don’t know, I just have to get my head around it,’ she reflected.

She continued: ‘If our marriage doesn’t end up successful in the long term, how would I feel seeing him go on and have children with other people?

‘We made the decision early on that we wouldn’t have children, but I can’t say I wouldn’t be heartbroken.’

‘I met the love of my life so late, I met him at like 36!’ she said, adding that they had both agreed to prioritise a calmer lifestyle.

‘We just wanted a nice, peaceful life together,’ she admitted, explaining that neither she nor Jeremy felt drawn to the chaos of raising young children.