Limerick boxer Lee Reeves admits 'weird' fear ahead of Survivor UK bow

MOST CONTESTANTS who appeared onto Survivor UK - which premieres this Saturday evening - were likely woried about the scorpions and the other deadly creepy crawlies they'll have to grapple with.

But for Limerick boxer Lee Reeves, his concerns were more centered around how he will look at having to grow a beard!

"This is a bit weird and a bit ego-driven. But shaving - not being able to shave," he said when asked about what he was most worried about before appearing on the show, "I hate having a rugged beard. Everyone was saying to me - there are scorpions which can kill you, snakes which can kill you, ants which will mess you up. But for me, not having a Gillette razor really killed me!"

The Roxboro man, who has 10 wins and just one loss in the boxing ring, says viewers can expect to see him as "the roughest of the roughest".

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"You'll see me with a beard, with bags under my eyes, one stone lighter. Thank God I've got a girlfriend, because I could not get one after this show, believe me," he laughs.

Lee joins 17 other contestants in the wild for the show, which sees contestants survive off the bare minimum of supplies with the chance to land £100,000.

Asked how it all came about, he recalls receiving a direct message on his Instagram - where he has 20,000 followers - from a casting agent with the BBC One programme while training in Belfast.

"I thought, you know what, I'd give that a go! So I ended up giving my audition, going through to the next audition. I passed that, and when this happened, there were strenous tests, physically and mentally and everything else in between until eventually - the cream always rises to the top," he grinned.

The first audition took place in February, but it was only in June when he found out he had made the cut!

It was only a fortnight after this he was on a plane to Dominican Republic in the Carribean, where filming took place.

"It was a bit of a whirlwind. I felt excitement and nervousness at the same time. Of course there were auditions and talks, and people asking me if I was sure it was somerhing I could do. I was like 'yes, of course, starving on a beach is nothing'. I'm always starving when I have to make a weight for a fight anyway, so it is what it is," added Lee.

Despite being in competition with the other 17 contestants on the show, Lee says he's made "friends for life" from the process.

An accomplished boxer with a 70% knockout record, Lee said he found this background helped him during Survivor UK.

"When you're in the depths of starvation, no energy, when things are all doom and gloom, to keep that positive mental attitude, and to be able to push it when it counted, I'm grateful to boxing and the hard days I've had in that. It made the tough days out there a little bit easier," he explained.

Lee is in a long-term relationship, but unlike many, he prefers to keep his private life separate to his public persona.

"Boxing is my business and my love. But my real love stays behind the scenes," he said, "When you put yourself out thre as a positive person and you get some traction on your social media, it's a place which can be super-positive and super-helpful. But it's also a place which can be really dark and horrible," he explains.

"I do believe a private life is a happy life. It's for peace of mind for someone who is 100 miles per hour like me," Lee added.

As for what he missed the most while he was away, he said: "My nephews and nieces as I'm used to being around them. My girlfriend is a massive part. And the day-to-day small things like having a coffee or having a White Monster on the way to trainings."

There is no question the food he craved though!

"I love the pizza," he smiles, "The first thing I did when I came back to Ireland was I got a pizza. I got a pepperoni and cheese with a little bit of jalapeño . Me and my baby nephew ate it. In fact when we transferred through Gatwick, me and my girlfriend had a pizza in London!"

What can people expect to see from Lee on Survivor in the coming weeks?

"You can expect a positive mental attitude, energy. The highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows! You're going to see happiness, excitement, emotion and everything else inbetween," he concluded.

Survivor premieres on BBC One this Saturday night at 8pm.