Television presenter Sarah Cawood has described an awkward encounter with Declan Donnelly at the wrap party for the 2004 series of "I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!," during which she initiated a kiss she later termed a "face-crash."
Cawood, then 53, recalled the incident on the "Suddenly Single" podcast, explaining that she had been covering the show for "This Morning" and believed Donnelly, then 50, might have been interested in her. "I fancied Dec. I remember thinking we'd make a lovely cute little couple because we're both quite diminutive. And I thought he fancied me. I think I might have misread that!" she said.
After refreshing her lip gloss, Cawood encountered Donnelly near the restrooms. "I just face-crashed, what I would call a face-crash, which is when you instigate a kiss," she recounted. She added that Donnelly kissed her back, an action she believes was "probably just to be polite." Following the kiss, Donnelly reportedly touched his lips and commented on her lip gloss, an observation Cawood described as him being "smothered in lip gloss."
Cawood, who married TV producer Andy Merry in 2012, admitted that in her mind, she had already envisioned a future with Donnelly. She also shared another instance of a similar impulsive kiss at a 2007 wedding, where she "face-crashed one of the groomsmen."
In recent times, Cawood has also spoken out about what she perceives as misogyny in the television industry. She has shared experiences of losing jobs when male co-hosts departed, citing examples from shows like "Night Fever" and "Singled Out." Cawood expressed frustration that such situations, where a female presenter was replaced solely because her male counterpart left, would likely not be permitted today.