I’m A Celeb star Paul Burrell ‘heartbroken’ after crew member loses his £10k jewellery with huge sentimental value
FORMER royal butler Paul Burrell was devastated when the I’m A Celeb TV crew lost his wedding ring worth an estimated £10,000.
He was advised to take off the gold band before attempting a Bushtucker trial in the all-star series filmed in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Paul, 64, handed it to a member of the production crew but it could not be found later despite an hours-long search of the camp.
A source said: “Paul was told off-camera and was left heartbroken. Production had a team deployed to search the area high and low where the ring had been.
“They searched for hours on end but had to give up after it failed to surface.
“It was thought the ring had been put in the production office for safe keeping but was nowhere to be seen.
“Paul was worried at offending his husband and the fact something so special and intimate to the two of them had been lost.
“The production runner who lost the ring was crying.
“He felt horrendous and went home as he couldn’t focus and felt he had let Paul down.
“Paul went into the camp and broke the news to his campmates. He was visibly upset.
“The campmates then rallied around him to try to make him feel better.”
Paul, former footman to the Queen, was married to corporate lawyer Graham Cooper, described as his “soul mate”, in a lavish ceremony in the Lake District in 2017.
He was runner-up on the 2004 series before being invited with other fan favourites to the pre- recorded I’m A Celebrity: South Africa show, hosted by Ant and Dec and starting tomorrow night.
The source added: “Paul had to break the news to his husband when he left the camp.
“ITV bosses contacted the couple’s jeweller and replaced the ring like-for-like.”
Paul, who has said Princess Diana called him her “rock”, was previously married to Maria Cosgrove, the mother of his two grown-up sons.
But the pair announced their divorce in 2016 after living separately for years.
The Sun on Sunday approached ITV for comment.