VETERAN supermodel Janice Dickinson is suing ITV bosses after a horror fall on the set of an I’m a Celebrity special.

The TV personality and ex lover of Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone suffered serious head and facial injuries when she tripped in the dark at the jungle camp.

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Janice Dickinson plans to sue ITV bosses over her horror fall on I’m A CelebCredit: Getty

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The contestant was left with concussion, a black eye, bruised cheeks, a split lip and fractures to her hands

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The show’s bosses decided that Janice couldn’t return to competeCredit: Rex

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Janice claims to be the world’s first supermodelCredit: Getty
Janice, now 70, fell while walking to the loo in the middle of the night and was forced to quit I’m A Celebrity: South Africa two years ago.

She was left covered in blood and needed emergency surgery – and initially claimed the fall was owing to her own “stupidity.”

But the American star has now instructed lawyers to sue programme makers ITV studios for a substantial sum in London’s High Court.

Janice’s personal injury claim case was filed on Monday by celebrity law firm Taylor Hampton and no further details were released.

In April 2023 she told The Sun her exit from the all-stars series was due to her “stupidity” and said ITV paid her fee and her medical bills .

But she is now arguing ITV is legally liable to pay compensation.

Describing the incident, she said tried to make her way in the pitch dark  “from memory” to the camp toilet when she she suddenly fell.

Janice told The Sun: “I walked a couple of steps and tripped, flying flat on my face – hair all over my forehead, my nose was bloody and my whole chin was gashed open.

“Blood was gushing from all these areas, and there was dirt and stones embedded in my face from the fall.

“All I could feel was an intense head pain – from one to ten it was about a nine – and I was just lying there, moaning.”

The star – who claims to the the world’s first supermodel – said fellow contestants Fatima Whitbread, the Olympic athlete and ex-cricketer Phil Tufnell were appalled by her

She said: “Phil took one look at my face and went: ‘Oh my dear!’ He was trying to hide his awe.

“Fatima is a champion and she walked me baby steps to the loo and then the lights started to go on in the campsite.

“ She buttoned me back up like a night nurse and heaved me back like a limp rag doll. I’m moaning and crying at this point because it hurt my head so badly.”

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Janice told how it took three months to healCredit: Rex

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The star said she had wanted to stay on the showCredit: Rex

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Crew found the former super model with blood gushing from her headCredit: Rex

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There were fears she had broken her skullCredit: Rex
Dickinson has intensive laser treatment on her skin in the US but said there was a dent remaining in her forehead.

Papers have been filed in the High Court and the case is due to be heard at a date to be fixed.

It comes after Janice previously recalled the first moment she saw her injuries in the mirror, Janice said: “I thought, “Geez, I’ll never work again.” I thought that because I was badly damaged.

“Certainly too damaged to go back on the show. I had blood, bruises up and down my face and there were gaping wounds. It really knocked my confidence.

“I didn’t require stitches, but they had to really clean the wounds really well. It was agony cleaning all the dirt and gravel off of my face, it was horrible.”

She added:  “For medical reasons, I had weeks and weeks and weeks of the doctors putting red light laser on my face to help shrink the wounds and it worked.

“Look, I don’t have any scars on my face. Not one. ITV didn’t turn their backs on me for one minute.

“The people on ITV that I worked with and that I worked for couldn’t have been nicer. Everyone was kind.

“It took about three months to properly heal. That was tough. But I’m not the type of person that stares at her face like: ‘What does the mirror say about me today?’”

LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY

The star also previously told TV Mag: “My husband’s face didn’t budge when he saw me – it was probably like waking up and seeing me every morning with this wrinkly old pruney face.

“But he held on to my hand really tight so I knew something must be up. I said: ‘How am I doing?’ He said: ‘You’re doing great, honey.’

“It was an honest accident. But ITV were kind enough to pay for my doctors’ bills once I got back to LA.

“I had to go to a serious skin specialist, who put me under laser lighting five days a week for my wounds to heal quickly. That was costly, so ITV did pony up and pay my bills, thank you very much.

Janice Dickinson

During her heyday in the late 70s and 80s, Janice was one of the most in-demand models in the industry – working with designers including Versace, Oscar De La Renta, Calvin Klein and Christian Dior.

She also appeared on magazine covers ranging from Vogue to Playboy.

After stepping away from modeling, Janice found fame with a new generation when she joined the judges’ panel of Tyra Banks’ America’s Next Top Model in 2003.

Known for her no-holds-barred critiques, she was eventually removed from the panel after the fourth cycle – being replaced by Twiggy.

Despite this, she was such a favorite on the show she made guest appearances during challenges to guide the up-and-coming models.

Shortly after this, Janice appeared on UK reality show, I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.

Joining the series in 2007, Janice was made to live and complete challenges while living in the Australian jungle.

She eventually placed second, losing out to British personality Christopher Biggins, but set the record for most challenges completed, doing 10 during her stint.

However, when she joined the American version of the show, she failed to make it to the finals.

In 2015, Janice returned to British TV on Celebrity Big Brother, and lasted until just two days before the finale when she was evicted.

“If you look really closely now, there’s still an indentation on my forehead, which I don’t think will fill out.”

The show’s bosses decided that Janice couldn’t return to compete to become I’m A Celebrity’s first ‘Legend’, which came as a terrible blow.

“I absolutely wanted to go back,” she insists. “But they put on the bandages, which were pretty awkward to look at because they were all over my face and I looked like a mummy.

“I think production made the right choice in keeping me out. I was in shock even a day after, I kept reliving the accident in my head. I don’t think people in the campsite could have handled it.

“I was in it to win it! Even when I was on a stretcher, I was crying: ‘I came here to win this contest!’

“Emotions were at a high. I was crying and laughing and peeing on myself at the same time. It was terrible and I’d done some horrible trials, but they weren’t as horrible as that fall.”

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Janice was worried she would never be able to work againCredit: Getty

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The former supermodel is now suing over her injuriesCredit: Getty