The Chase star Anne Hegerty - known as The Governess - has been doing a great job of raising awareness of autism on I'm A Celebrity, and now a young fan has thanked her by reading out a heartbreaking letter he wrote to her on live TV. Joseph Hughes, 11, penned the letter on Tuesday before going on This Morning with his mum to read it out on Wednesday morning, saying: "I was diagnosed with autism when I was five. I like to watch you on The Chase and now I watch you in the jungle. I think you are very brave for going in the jungle. I couldn’t go there because there are too many bugs." He continued: "Some people are mean to me because I am autistic but watching you makes me see that other people can have autism too and maybe I can have a cool job like you when I am older." He then chatted with Philip Schofield about his love for Thunderbirds toys, which he drew a picture of to include in his letter to Anne.
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© Photo: ITVJoseph on This Morning
There wasn't a dry eye around the country, as fans took to Twitter to praise Joseph for his letter. One viewer wrote: "Cried my eyes out! What a brave little guy! Especially out of his comfort zone! Awww, I so hope @GovernessAnne #TeamAnne gets to read this while in the jungle! Hopefully it will give her some comfort! So loving and respecting anne #TeamAnne" Another added: "What a lovely little boy, I hope Anne gets the letter, she's a lovely lady and very brave."
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© Photo: ITVAnne Hegerty opens up in the jungle
Anne discussed her autism diagnosis with campmate Rita Simons on Monday after she said she was "really, really close to saying I can’t do this" during the first show on Sunday night. Following her discussion, and talking about Aspergers so openly and honestly, the National Autism Society website crashed because fans wanted to learn more about the condition.
