Famed comedienne and television host, Julia Morris, has opened up about battling two major health issues but in a refreshing light.

The co-host of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Outta Here! has revealed the struggles of dealing with the onset of a debilitating disease during one of the busiest times of her career, as well as an adult ADHD diagnosis.

“I thought ‘I’m too young to get shingles’ … [and] I really didn’t know anything about it,” the now 57-year-old said on Instagram.

She even pitched a catchphrase, “Shingles: it gave me tingles”, but laughed no-one went with it.

“It was painful, it was exhausting, it was months in bed that I just didn’t have,” she said of her health baggage.

Despite watching her mother and grandmother suffer from the condition, Morris said she wished she’d known the risks sooner and is speaking out to warn others.

As the immune system naturally weakens with age, the dormant virus can reactivate and present as shingles (with a rash, aches and headaches) but can have complications like pneumonia, hearing problems, blindness or swelling of the brain, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Julia Morris on set for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Outta Here! Picture from Instagram

Morris said the physical toll was immediate and overwhelming, forcing her to sleep between scenes while filming the Australian sitcom House Husbands, with a nurse on standby.

“I could barely get through a day without collapsing back into bed,” she said.

“Even simple tasks like having a shower left me exhausted. I was completely debilitated for weeks, and the recovery took months.”

Morris’ revelation comes three weeks after opening up about her diagnosis with ADHD on The Assembly, hosted by Leigh Sales, on ABC TV.

“One thing that I look back on, and I think having an earlier diagnosis would have helped with, is how much I’ve let my friends down over the years,” she told a collection of Autistic journalism students on the program.

“Now, when I make a plan with someone, I’m like, let’s absolutely do it, but there’s every possibility I’ll pull out, so I can do some pre-disappointment. That really helps because I don’t like that feeling of letting people down.”

Julia Morris on the catwalk at the Brisbane Fashion Festival, October 2024. Picture from Facebook

Morris went on to say being diagnosed in her mid-50s made life easier and, in a sense, “set her free”.

“Life becomes slightly easier because then you start to build into your days the things that you need, whether that’s a little break or a lie down or whatever that is,” she said.

“Now knowing I have such intense neurodiversity in my home … my children have taught me how to listen.”

According to the Australian Psychological Society, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterised by difficulties with concentration, attention and impulse control which impact on the person’s day-to-day life.