Cerys: I want Marc back!

The former Catatonia singer had received a love letter from the actor in which he said he wants to be there to meet her when she comes out of the I'm A Celebrity jungle.

Bannerman, 34, who was evicted last week, wrote: "Keep singing songbird, you are doing amazing and I am rooting for you. I may well return to greet you when you come out, if that is your wish."

After reading his letter, Matthews, 38, revealed to the show's Bush Telegraph: "I'd like him to come out so we can talk about this as quickly as possible. I can't believe what's going on. But also tell him there's no rush. It's a long life."

The divorced mother of two gushed about Bannerman to fellow contestants Anna Ryder Richardson and Christopher Biggins, saying: "He is like my brother and my best friend and like a guy I have known for ages." She added: "And he likes children."

Ryder Richardson-told her: "This could be the biggest love story since Romeo and Juliet. He can come and rescue you, like a knight."

Biggins chimed in: " It happened to Jordan and Peter Andre. You can have your own TV show!"

But Matthews's brother Richard, 35, is worried that she will be hurt and demanded Bannerman stay away from her. The Formula One engineer said: "Cerys, please don't rush this. Things are different in the real world than in the jungle."

He added: "I never expected her to fall for someone in there - I don't think she did either. I hope she can put her feelings aside for the remainder of the show."

Meanwhile, Bannerman's girlfriend, actress Sarah Matravers, claimed to a Sunday newspaper that she was once left bruised after Marc tore into her during a drink-fuelled fight. She said: "I was very, very scared. I remember thinking, 'He's a bloke, he shouldn't be doing this to me'. I had bruises where he slapped me and bruises and scuffs on my body."

Bannerman and Matthews's budding romance was obvious to all the celebrities in the jungle camp, including former footballer Rodney Marsh, who last night became the fifth person to be evicted from the ITV programme.

Marsh, 63, said: "From the first second they met, you could tell there was something between them. They just connected."