Most bring your child to work days mean a bored teen or pre-teen spinning aimlessly around in an office chair while the parent tries to finish an important deadline.
But for Declan Donnelly’s six-year-old daughter, Isla, it was every child’s dream as she joined her father on the set of I’m A Celebrity yesterday morning in the Australian jungle.
It can be revealed that Isla spent the morning playing with members of the ITV crew and was well looked after in her father’s flashy jungle dressing room, decked out with a sofa, bathroom and television to watch the show.
Learning the ropes at a young age, Isla watched on as the 49-year-old and his long-time hosting partner, Ant McPartlin, presented their after-show to thousands of people.
She even interrupted her ‘Uncle Ant’ during the chat to shout ‘Toast!’ at him as he showed slices of it to the camera, to which he lovingly replied: ‘Yes Isla, toast.’
It’s not the first time an ITV star has brought their child on set, as Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden went as far as to bring their children on the judging panel of Britain’s Got Talent with them.
Declan Donnelly’s daughter Isla, 6, has enjoyed a behind-the-scenes day on the I’m A Celebrity set as she joined her father in the jungle on Friday
Declan has flown his wife Ali Astall, 45, their children Isla, five, and Jack, two, and their longtime nanny to Brisbane
Ms Holden, 53, revealed Eric, 10, and her youngest daughter Hollie, 12, were constantly up to ‘mischief’ on set and have become close friends behind the scenes.
Bringing Isla to work is no doubt a move to show her around the camp but also to spend more time with his daughter as he spends three weeks filming in Australia.
During filming, the families stay in a luxury £1000-a-night luxury beachside apartment in New South Wales equipped with a private pool and near a golf course.
But the filming schedules are busy for Ant and Dec, which has only increased this year since they have to appear on I’m A Celebrity… Unpacked on top of shooting their own after-show.
The pair wake up at 2am [AEST] and drive approximately half an hour to camp each day and shoot an episode which will air the following evening in the UK.
Filming wraps at around 4pm [AEST] and the dynamic duo are reportedly in bed by 6:30pm to get enough sleep for their early rise.
It comes after Ant and Dec announced they were taking a break from hosting Saturday Night Takeaway after its 20th series to spend more time with their families.
Ant, who has welcomed his first child with his wife Anne-Marie Corbett, said: ‘Part of the reason we’re pausing Takeaway is we need a break ourselves, and we need to spend some time with our family.
Dec and talent manager Ali have been married since 2015
‘We’ve both got children that we need to spend time with for a little bit.’
Ant welcomed his son, Wilder Patrick, seven months ago and was seen taking him for a walk on the beach on the Gold Coast after he was flown out to visit him.
Ahead of I’m A Celebrity, Dec flew with his wife Ali Astall, 45, their children Isla, and Jack, two, and their longtime nanny to Brisbane a week ahead of the 24th series to enjoy a holiday.
Struggling with jet-lag, the family of four were spotted grabbing lunch at their regular spot, The Socials, opposite their apartment where they enjoyed a quiet breakfast watched over by five security guards.
Dec and talent manager Ali, who have been married since 2015, ordered the same £13 breakfast of scrambled eggs, avocado and bacon, while the children had waffles and nutella.
They were joined by their longtime nanny who has accompanied the family on the trip of a lifetime since 2019 when she did a skydive as her employers watched on.
One onlooker told MailOnline: ‘They appeared rather dazed and didn’t speak much apart from to their security who were keeping an eye out at all times.
‘At one point Dec spoke to a waiter about how they were still struggling with jet lag and then commented on how far the journey was, joking he was glad they hadn’t walked it.
‘Both were really pleasant and more chatty to the staff than to each other.’