Tom Read Wilson’s childhood friend has offered the most intimate and compelling portrait yet of the man behind I’m A Celebrity’s breakout star — revealing a softer, deeper side of Tom that television rarely captures He’s the man who sings to strangers, writes poems that make crowds cry, and quietly holds whole families together — yet TV only shows a fraction of him. Tom Read Wilson isn’t just the velvet voice of the jungle; he’s the rare kind of person whose smallest gestures reveal the biggest heart. And now, for the first time, the world is finally seeing it

Tom Read Wilson’s childhood friend has offered the most intimate and compelling portrait yet of the man behind I’m A Celebrity’s breakout star — revealing a softer, deeper side of Tom that television rarely captures

In an emotional Instagram post shared on Thursday, Charlie Collins — who has known Tom for 34 years — opened up about the warmth, compassion and quiet heroism that she says have always defined him.

Charlie recalled meeting Tom when she was four, after their mothers became close friends. Their lives intertwined instantly, and over the decades she witnessed both his early theatrical sparkle and his unwavering kindness. “Tom was my first kiss,” she joked, saying she still teases him that she “may be the reason he never looked twice at girls again.”

She remembered his voice echoing through school plays, and the afternoons when he would lock himself in his room to practise scales while she and his sister Miranda played in the garden. But for Charlie, the most revealing parts of Tom have always been his small, luminous gestures:

He sings Christmas carols in tiny shops to make staff smile.
He reads stories at her sister’s school because, as he always says, “stories matter.”
He writes wedding poems so funny and heartfelt they leave whole rooms in tears.
He treats his mother — and Charlie’s mother — to champagne lunches simply because it delights them.

“Tom makes everyone feel like they’re the only person in the room,” Charlie wrote. “He is the warm, glowing centre that holds everything — and everyone — together.”

She described his deep devotion to his family, especially to his mother Juliette, and said watching him comfort campmates in the jungle feels “like seeing the purest parts of childhood shine through an adult body.”

Her tribute ended with a simple rallying cry: “Tom for the win.”

This season, Tom’s velvety accent and poetic vocabulary have charmed millions, sparking debate over whether his refined speech is an affectation. But Tom has long insisted it’s entirely natural — shaped by his father, an English teacher who turned language into music.

“My wonderful dad gave me the love of language,” he told Aitch in camp. “I’m not a poet, but I love the lyricism of it all.”

Gift baskets

Less discussed is the complex piece of his family story involving his parents’ age-gap romance. On 8 Out of 10 Cats in 2024, Tom revealed that his father, Crispin Read Wilson, had been a teacher at the school where his mother Juliette was a pupil. “She was 18, coming of age,” Tom said, adding that he “never really thought about it.”

Though his parents later separated and his father remarried, Tom has remained close to both. “My mum is a French teacher with a fiery, mischievous spirit,” he once said. “And I adore her.”

Earlier this week, Juliette arrived in Australia to support her son, laughing that “he was born with a dictionary in his mouth,” and admitting she sometimes struggles to understand his elaborate vocabulary.

Charlie’s heartfelt tribute has now given viewers something deeper than the whimsical persona they see on screen — a rare window into the gentle, generous soul who has quietly held people together since childhood.

For many fans, the revelation has transformed their perception of the series’ most enchanting star, proving Tom is not a character crafted for television, but the true emotional heartbeat of this year’s show.