A 33-year-old Kent woman who suffers from a rare illness could turn out to be the unlikely star of a BBC reality show.

Jonna Sparrow will appear in Extreme Dreams 2 alongside presenter Ben Fogle next week.

The BBC2 programme features Jonna and fellow contestants trekking across the Himalayas and through the Venezuelan jungle.

Jonna, who lives in Maple Gardens, Hersden, near Canterbury, suffers from lupus, a disease which affects the immune system.

She was picked for the show after replying to an advert and passing auditions in the Welsh mountains.

“I applied because I had been feeling low and thought I can’t face another year like the one I just had,” Jonna said.

“I wanted to do something different and wanted a boost in life.”

Her first trip was to Nepal and the Himalayas for two weeks. She met Buddhist holy men in Katmandu and visited a lake held sacred by the Buddhists.

Jonna found herself fighting to overcome her illness to take part in the daily treks and was sometimes so ill she had to be physically lifted out of bed in the morning.

Despite her difficulties, Jonna had impressed the show’s director so much that she was invited for another trek in Venezuela.

There the contestants had to negotiate dense jungle, endure torrential downpours and avoid poisonous snakes.

Jonna added: “Although I’m not looking forward to seeing myself on the television, I’m really glad that I took part in the treks.

“They were experiences that you can’t buy and I’ve changed a hell of a lot from doing them.”

Extreme Dreams 2 starts on Monday and Jonna is due to make her first appearance on Tuesday, January 15.