Tory MP Penny Mordaunt claims the PM backs her going on Splash! Penny Mordaunt defends her appearance on this weekend's Splash! MP is being mentored by Olympian Tom Daley in preparation for the show Insists she is not chasing fame but raising money for a lido in her seat David Cameron would approve of his MPs taking part in reality TV shows, according to the Tory backbencher appearing on ITV's Splash! Penny Mordaunt insisted she was not chasing fame by appearing in front of millions in her swimming costume. But she said lots of MPs "do silly things for charity" and she will raise money for a lido in her Portsmouth constituency. The 40-year-old will appear on Tom Daley's Saturday night diving competition this weekend. But she insisted she was not taking part in the pursuit of fame: "I have to say, appearing in a swimsuit on national television is to me more terrifying than going off the 10m board so this has been really out of my comfort zone," she told ITV's Daybreak. Other people who have done all kinds of other shows, they may have their own goals and that's their business - that's not what I'm doing. I'm not interested in building a career. This is a perfect fit for a problem that I had in my constituency, which is how do we get this amazing facility brought back into public use. The Hilsea Lido in Portsmouth is being renovated by the local community and needs to raise money from the public. Miss Mordaunt said she thought the idea had the backing of the Prime Minister. He's someone that's really pushed community asset transfers... so I think he'll approve of the lido project. We'll wait and see what he says after Saturday about my diving performance. She said she "thought long and hard" about taking part and consulted Tory whips - something fellow MP Nadine Dorries failed to do before taking part in I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. I think it's a good fit and it's something that I think people can see that I'm doing that will benefit my constituency. It was very important to me that it didn't detract from my constituency work. All MPs, we do silly things for charity and the charities like it because we raise their profile, we raise money. I have donned pink bunny ears for cancer charities, I've been in many a dunk tank for all kinds of causes. And we do it alongside having to deal with very serious issues in our constituency and nationally, but that's part of what we do. Last week she said: "I have the elegance and drive of a paving slab, but my navy training has certainly given me the guts to take on the challenge head on.