From dropping out of school to the jungle: Inside I’m A Celeb’s Aitch’s humble childhood

Aitch has quickly become a fan favourite on I’m A Celeb. Here’s everything we know about his humble childhood and rise to fame.

The I’m A Celeb rapper, whose real name is Harrison James Armstrong, was born in Manchester to a working-class family. His dad was a pipe cleaner and mechanical engineer, and his mum was a full-time carer for his sister Gracie, who has Down syndrome.

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In a 2020 interview with The Telegraph, Aitch opened up about what it was like growing up in a “rough” area of Manchester.

“To some people, Moston is probably the worst area in Manchester, but to me, it’s the best place in the world. I was kind of the lucky one out of my friendship group, because I was the only one who had both parents,” he said.

Aitch struggled academically in school. By the end of his time in secondary school, he was already experimenting with being a rapper, making his own beats and practising freestyles by “dissing” his friends on their group chat.

“School was good. I wasn’t the naughtiest, and I wasn’t the best kid either. I was good at English, Performing Arts and Sport; those were the only three GCSEs I got. I think I had the best childhood ever, and I wouldn’t change anything about it.”

Despite his shaky GCSE results, Aitch managed to get into college and had plans of training to be a P.E teacher. It felt like the right place to be, as he was good at sports and even worked part-time as a coach for the local sports team.

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But by his second year in college, he had begun blowing up as a rapper. Aitch’s friend had posted one of his freestyles on YouTube, and it quickly racked up thousands of views. He dropped out of college to focus on his career as a musician and never looked back.

When asked about his new image since leaving Moston, Aitch said: “But people need to understand that when you come from certain places, where you’re always broke, never had anything, when you get that little bit of change, you wanna look the part, and you need to let the world know that life’s changed.”

According to Capital 1Xtra, Aitch’s net worth is around £2.3 million. He’s getting paid £250,000 for his time in the Jungle – the highest paid campmate this year.

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Featured image via ITV/Facebook