Kim Woodburn is a woman who needs no introduction. As a cleaning expert extraordinaire, her Channel 4 show How Clean Is Your House was a huge hit in recent years, and her stint in the 2009 series of I’m a Celebrity. Get Me Out Of Here! won her second place as millions voted to keep her in the show.
This week at the Spring Caravan and Camping show in Birmingham, CaravanTimes caught up with Kim to find out why she’s urging caravanners to ‘Do the Lavy Looksee’.
So Kim, tell us about your work with the Camping and Caravanning Club. What is the Lavy Looksee?
Well, The Camping and Caravanning Club said to me “we pride ourselves on our washrooms, they’re spotless” so I went to inspect them and they were fabulous! It was all wonderful – bathrooms are very hard to keep clean as people have very dirty hands. I think people play a big part in keeping them nice too.
[The Club] are always very good and this year if you stay at one of their camps and you find anything dirty [in the washrooms], go to the office and complain. It’ll be fixed within two hours and if it’s not they’ll give you a free night’s stay that night. Now that’s in writing, they stand by that, which I happen to think is very, very good indeed.
Why do you think more people are choosing to holiday in the UK?
As you know, there is a recession right now; people who were going abroad simply can’t afford it so they are going to holiday camps and going caravanning and camping. Everything is lovely, cosy and warm, and they even have shops on the campsite with the usual things like bread, butter, milk, bacon, eggs and newspapers.
I think it’s lovely. They can’t promise the weather, but they can promise clean conditions and a good atmosphere, and if the sun shines as well you’ve cracked it.
Do you go caravanning?
I did when I was younger but I’m not much of a camper. I suppose I’ve never really got into it but Aggie [McKenzie, fellow How Clean Is Your House presenter] goes caravanning.
You went caravanning with George Hamilton in the jungle though for I’m A Celebrity – how was that?
The jungle was nice, it was a good experience; it’s difficult when it’s really dirty and horrible and when you’re in there you think: ‘I’ve got to get out’, but after we’d been out most of us were saying we wanted to go back in!
I went in to be myself and had a great time and I was runner-up so I was very pleased. I’m not a competitive person, some people in show business are fiercely competitive, but if you win you win, if you don’t that’s fine, it’s not all about winning.
Surely the loos in the jungle, compared to the ones at the Caravanning and Camping Club sites, are miles apart?
Well, camping and caravanning is five-star compared to that jungle! You can’t describe it, there’s no chain, it’s just all awful, just fill it up and take it out- it’s awful!
I’m very thrilled the take part in this [campaign] as they try to keep their facilities lovely and clean, and they’re very good at it – they started in 1901 did you know? One hundred and twelve years ago now! I can’t imagine what the toilets were like then. People were in long dresses then and that’s how long they’ve been going for.
They’re very nice, I was very impressed, I really was. They’ll promise you a good time, they’ll promise you a clean time.
The Camping and Caravanning Club echoed Kim’s words, saying: “We want our campers to feel right at home on our Club sites. That’s why we guarantee our washroom facilities will be cleaned to the highest standards.”
And as the cleanest woman in Britain heartily agrees, they certainly have an impressive seal of approval.
To see Kim inspecting the Camping and Caravanning Club’s washrooms, click on the video below.
