The daughter of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher beat ex-Emmerdale actress Sheree Murphy, who came second, and former EastEnders star Sid Owen.

She said she was "amazed, astonished and gobsmacked to the power of 100".

She lived in the jungle with her fellow contestants for 16 days, completing trials including eating insects.

"I think I coped with life in the jungle, I used to live in Australia and I thoroughly enjoyed it," she told the show's presenters Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly.

"I was very lucky with my fellow celebs and we were a very harmonious group. We all enjoyed it."

Thatcher, a broadcaster and journalist, was crowned "queen of the jungle" after being voted the most popular contestant on the show by the public.

She said she had left Baroness Thatcher's phone number at home and did not know her number so it was unlikely she would know about her win.

"She doesn't know I'm here so she won't notice. I'm more interested in switching on the news," she said.

Thatcher added that dealing with jungle creatures in her "bushtucker trials" was a challenge, and said: "I thought the snakes all took a bit of 'get on with it'".

And she added that part of the reason she found being on the show so "life-enhancing" was due to her "fellow campers".

Previous series has seen some contestants rowing, but she said they "replaced acrimonious bickering with amusing banter".

Singer Jimmy Osmond had been the fourth contestant to leave.

Other contestants on the show included wine taster Jilly Goolden, antiques expert David Dickinson and former Atomic Kitten singer Jenny Frost.

Previous winners include DJ Tony Blackburn, retired cricketer Phil Tufnell, Kerry Katona and Joe Pasquale.

(BBC)

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