Colin Baker is one of the official contestants heading into the I'm a Celebrity jungle. See the whole line-up here.

Age: 69

Date of Birth: 8th June 1943

Phobias: Heights, standing at the edge of a cliff rather than jumping out of planes. Not too fond of spiders either

Missing any special occasion: Half of the rehearsals for my role as Nanny Nelly in pantomime at Bournemouth.

Miss most: My family

Dream camper: Derren Brown. He can hypnotise me into thinking I am eating steak and chips rather than witchetty grubs!

Relationship status: Married

One of the most famous actors ever to play Dr Who, Colin Baker is looking forward to his stint in the jungle because he hopes to lose a stone and a half in weight.

Smiling, the 69-year-old star, who was the 6th incarnation of Dr Who between 1984 and 1986, admits he'd love to walk out of the camp thinner than when he entered. "I am a rather large gentleman and I adore my food," he says. "I could give up booze with a drop of a hat but food, my gosh there is not even a fridge I can raid in the middle of the night!

"But I am seeing this as an opportunity to lose weight. I am aiming for at least a stone and a half and it would be fabulous if I can. I just then hope I can keep it off once I am out!"

It's thanks to Colin's four daughters that he is doing I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!

"My children decided I should do this," he says, chuckling. "They are fans of the show and the programme is on incessantly every year. They told me I had to go on and they are so excited.

"They keep telling me that they can't wait to see me eat something disgusting. It's not something you would expect to hear from your children is it?!

"Now I am about to go in the jungle, I wouldn't say I am excited. It's a mixture of intrigue, a feeling of resigned and interested to see how I am going to react. I haven't a clue as I have not done anything like this ever before. For me, this is pushing back the boundaries."

And yet whilst he is happy to go in the jungle for his family, the actor admits he will miss them terribly. "It's the one thing I am going to find hard," he adds. "I don't think I will break down in the jungle but I am going to miss my wife and children a lot. I am the one that when things go wrong in the house, I deal with it. Even if I am out of the country I will sort it out. The fact that I am not going to be contactable is hard. I know I will worry."

As the oldest member, Colin hopes he will be able to bring some wisdom to the camp. "I want to be kind to the people who are having a tough time, " he explains.

"And I will be stern with people who are not pulling their weight. I am only worried about being one of the oldest contestants in the sense that I will worry about matching the energy of the younger ones."

Colin, who has enjoyed a distinguished acting career over several decades, starring in dozens of theatre shows including Privates on Parade and Run for Your Wife, says he would be chuffed if his stint on I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! did lead to more TV work.

He explains: "I am intrigued to find out what happens. It won't be weird going in as me rather than as a character because I still go to a lot of Dr Who conventions as myself. I still watch the show and I think the new Dr Who, Matt Smith, is brilliant.

"I don't think I would have done this if I was younger but at my time of life, I would be delighted if it did lead to more television."

Keen to stress he definitely does not have a game plan, Colin admits it would be the icing on the cake if viewers voted him as their King of the Jungle. "I would like to win it," he says. "I am a tad competitive and if I do anything, I always want to win. But I wouldn't want to ever give myself an advantage over others. I would want to win it fair and square. It would be lovely if viewers thought I was alright and a good camper."