Most days when your child goes to work mean a bored teen or pre-teen spinning aimlessly in an office chair while the parent tries to meet an important deadline.
But for Declan Donnelly’s six-year-old daughter Isla, it was every child’s dream as she stood with her dad on the set of I’m A Celebrity in the Australian jungle yesterday morning.
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 ostentatious jungle dressing room, equipped with a sofa, bathroom and television to watch the show.
Isla learned the ropes at a young age, watching as the 49-year-old and his longtime hosting partner, Ant McPartlin, presented their after-show to thousands of people.
She even interrupted her ‘Uncle Ant’ during the chat to say ‘Toast!’ towards 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 onto set, as Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden even went so far as to bring their kids on the judging panel of Britain’s Got Talent.
Declan Donnelly’s daughter Isla, 6, enjoyed a day behind the scenes on the I’m A Celebrity set as she headed into the jungle with her dad on Friday
Declan has flown his wife Ali Astall, 45, their children Isla, five, and Jack, two, and their long-time nanny to Brisbane
Ms Holden, 53, revealed that Eric, 10, and her youngest daughter Hollie, 12, were constantly up to mischief on set and have become good friends behind the scenes.
Taking Isla to work is undoubtedly a move to show her around the camp, but also to spend more time with his daughter while he is filming in Australia for three weeks.
During filming, the families will stay in a £1,000-a-night luxury beach apartment in New South Wales, equipped with a private pool and close to a golf course.
But Ant and Dec’s filming schedules are busy, and that’s only increased this year since they’re due to appear on I’m A Celebrity… Unwrapped alongside filming their own aftershow.
The couple wakes up at 2am [AEST] and drive about half an hour to camp every day and record an episode to be broadcast in Britain the following evening.
The recordings end around 4 p.m [AEST] and the dynamic duo are reportedly in bed by 6.30pm to get enough sleep before an early rise.
It comes after Ant and Dec announced they were taking a break from hosting Saturday Night Takeaway after the 20th series to spend more time with their families.
Ant, who has welcomed his first child with wife Anne-Marie Corbett, said: ‘Part of the reason we’re pausing Takeaway is because 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 both have kids that we need to spend time with for a while.”
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 flying in to visit.
Ahead of I’m A Celebrity, Dec flew to Brisbane with his wife Ali Astall, 45, their children Isla and Jack, two, and their long-time nanny to enjoy a holiday a week before the 24th series.
Struggling with jet lag, the family of four were spotted having lunch at their regular spot, The Socials, opposite their apartment, where they enjoyed a quiet breakfast under the supervision of 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 kids had waffles and Nutella.
They were accompanied by their longtime nanny who had been accompanying the family on the trip of a lifetime since 2019 when she took a skydive while her employers watched.
An onlooker told MailOnline: ‘They seemed quite dazed and didn’t say much except to their security who were constantly keeping an eye on things.
‘At one point Dec was talking to a waiter about how they were still struggling with jet lag and then talked about how far the journey was, jokingly glad they hadn’t walked it.
‘Both were very friendly and more talkative to the staff than to each other.’