I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!‘s late arrivals are joining the jungle camp on Thursday as the full line-up has been announced.
It’s that time of year again as Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly have jetted Down Under to film I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here with a whole new cast of celebrities. Many will be breathing a sigh of relief that the TV bosses have steered clear of including any controversial political figures for the 2024 series after even cheeky hosts Ant and Dec called for no politicians.
Who are I’m a Celebrity’s late arrivals?
Maura Higgins
There has also been a lot of buzz around Maura Higgins signing up to the jungle show this year. She quickly became a fan favourite on Love Island in 2019 for her straight talking nature and witty sense of humour.
The TV personality has been hitting headlines over her rumoured romance with Pete Wicks, with the pair pictured kissing, although she has insisted the couple are just really good friends. Wicks has been starring on Strictly Come Dancing.
Rev Richard Coles
Rev Richard Coles who once waltzed onto the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor and tried his hand at baking up a storm in Celebrity Bake Off now is adding the jungle show to his sparkling showbiz CV.
Coles has had an exciting life. It’s said TV bosses were keen on stories from his “wild days” as an 80s pop star to his time on Strictly Come Dancing and his life as a reverend.
Read more: I’m A Celeb line-up
I’m a Celebrity’s line-up in full
Coleen Rooney
The signing that everyone is talking about is Coleen Rooney. She is allegedly being paid the biggest fee in the show’s history — said to surpass even Nigel Farage’s £1.5 million last year — but for that kind of money, a campmate would be expected to provide some serious value.
After years of saying no to TV shows, Rooney revealed why she has finally said “yes”. “It has been year after year I have been asked to go on a programme and it’s always been a straight no,” she said. “Over the years, there have been different things going on in my life and also, my children have been really young. But they are at an age now where I can go away for this length of time. I also feel it’s time to have a challenge for me and do something different. It has taken many, many years but I’m finally doing it. And I have always said if I was going to do one – then it would be this show. I think it will be good for me.”
Her footballer husband Wayne has been “supportive”, although she said he reminded her she would be filmed 24/7. She added: “He did say, ‘You know you are going to be on camera 24/7?’ but I said, ‘Yeah that’s the show!’. He is fine with it all.”
Jungle bosses will be hoping the WAG opens up on her Wagatha Christie court battle with former show star Rebekah Vardy, as well as some of the headline-grabbing moments from her long marriage to Wayne Rooney. If the rumours are true, Rooney would certainly have viewers tuning in for her campfire chats.
Previous I’m A Celebrity 2022 contestant Scarlette Douglas told Yahoo: “They’re saying that Coleen Rooney has been offered over £1.5m and that’s the highest ever, more than Nigel Farage. Everyone’s going to be asking about the Wagatha Christie trial.
“Everyone will want to know all the ins and outs and the gossip but I don’t think she’ll be allowed to talk about it, obviously there’s a court case that’s ongoing, so who knows? I think she could be pretty good in there.”
Alan Halsall
Alan Halsall said he feels like the “worst kept secret” of the series after having to pull out last year because of a knee injury.
Last year, the Coronation Street actor posted a message on Instagram telling fans that he had undergone ACL reconstruction surgery. The star, who is known for playing Tyrone Dobbs on the cobbles, said at the time that he had “a long 9-12 months of rehabilitation ahead”.
Now Halsall said: “It feels like the worst kept secret ever! It was a bit of a shock when I got the knee injury last year and whilst I am signed off surgically, I still have several months of physio ahead of me.”
The hardest thing for Halsall will be leaving his daughter Sienna. “That’s going to be really difficult,” he said. “She has found the idea of me going difficult. It is only in the last two weeks or so that she has come around to the idea. We never spend more than two weeks apart. I am very emotional about Sienna, so it will be interesting to see how I cope. I tend to try to hide my emotions but with Sienna I’m not very good at all – I think I will have several blubs. She is 11 and so I’m hoping I won’t embarrass her.”
Tulisa Contostavlos
N-Dubz singer Tulisa — who has reportedly turned down the show various times in the past — has recently relaunched her singing career with N-Dubz after being fairly quiet since her X Factor judging days and a stint in the jungle will be the perfect profile boost.
However, I’m A Celebrity is not a “career move” for the singer. Contostavlos admitted she’s going to find the first few days the hardest.
“I’m a big softie and I’m an emotional person,” she said. “I will probably struggle in the first few days as doing something like this is a big deal for me. I haven’t been thrust this much into the spotlight in a while and I have avoided it out of irrational fear. I will probably be the most emotional when I first go in. It will take me a while to settle in, but I know I will get past that.”
She has vowed to be her “true authentic self” on the show. She added: “If me being my authentic self connects with people in a mass way, then it must mean I’m doing something right in life. But I am not going to go looking for it. This isn’t a career move for me either. I will always go back to N-Dubz and this is a one-off experience.”
The N-Dubz star has no plans on recreating Myleene Klass’ iconic white bikini jungle shower moment. She said: “I am not going to step out in white. It will be the polar opposite and if someone can hold up a towel then I will (ask them!).”
Danny Jones
Danny Jones stands a good chance in the jungle after his bandmate Dougie Poynter was named King of the Jungle back in 2011 but he insisted he’s not feeling the pressure to win the title following his bandmate’s success on the series.
Asked if his bandmates would give him a hard time if he didn’t win, he said: “They are competitive, the boys. But I don’t think so… I don’t want to think about winning, it’s too much pressure.”
Admittedly though, the McFly star is dreading the BushTucker trials. He said: “It’s genuinely all of them.” He’s just hoping he won’t have more fears when he comes out of the jungle. He said: “I’ve tried to forget all of my phobias. I’ve never been put in a situation like this before. I’m hoping that I don’t come home with new phobias…”
It was claimed Jones was brought in to replace Tommy Fury after the star got a better offer.
Oti Mabuse
Former Strictly pro Oti Mabuse is no stranger to reality TV. She has had stints on shows such as Celebrity MasterChef, Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel and Celebrity Catchphrase under her belt, as well as a raft of judging spots.
Having had her first child last year with her husband Marius Lepure, the Dancing on Ice judge is ready for her next challenge. She said: “Now I have had my baby daughter, I want to get back to the adventurous and fun Oti. I feel ready for a change and doing something completely different. I will have no make-up, concealer, lashes – it’s going to be nice to be laid back.”
In fact being a new mum, she’s going to use her sleep deprivation to her advantage as she joked about catching up on a whole year’s worth of sleep. It will be difficult not being with her daughter though. She said: “Of course not seeing my daughter is going to be hard. She is going to be one of my biggest motivators. My husband is really excited I am doing the programme. He loves the show too!”
Jane Moore
As for Loose Women’s Jane Moore, the star is ready to take on her next challenge. In 2022, she revealed she had split from her husband Gary Farrow after 20 years of marriage and the Loose Women star said at the time they had remained good friends.
Speaking about why she’s doing the show, Moore said: “I’m apprehensive about being away from home, being isolated and away from my phone and laptop – but actually, this is also thevery thing I am looking forward to. I have never done a reality show before and I’ve always said when we talk about these things on Loose Women that this programme would be the one. I like an adventure and it appeals to me.”
The TV personality joked vomiting live on TV doing a Bushtucker trial could be a career highlight.
“I like to think of myself as a gutsy person but this remains to be seen,” she said. “I’m sure a lot of people think that before they face those Trials and then courage goes out the window! I’m not sure how I will feel either when I am faced with an Australian creepy crawly that looks like a tarantula rather than a house spider. The eating Trials, again I know it’s not going to harm me but retching is an involuntary reaction and my body might have other ideas.”
Barry McGuigan
Aged 63, former boxer Barry McGuigan is the oldest star to appear in the 2024 series. It’s believed the sports star was drafted in after Ally McCoist was ruled out of the show. Regardless of his age, he’s up for the challenge.
“It can be physically arduous, but it’s the psychological part of it that I want to conquer before I get too old,” Barry said. “I’m 63 now. I’d like to think I’m a young 63, but that doesn’t mean it’ll make any of these challenges easy. I’d rather do it when I’m 63, than 73, put it that way.”
The sports star is going to approach the Bushtucker trials with a fighter’s mindset. He said: “I couldn’t refuse to do it. Once you’ve made the decision to get into I’m A Celebrity, you have to be willing to do everything. It might be disgusting and you might be tired, but being a fighter and being dedicated and committed to training and getting ready for fights… You have to go through hell, physically as well as psychologically. So, I know what I’m letting myself in for… Listen, it might be very funny, me going, ‘Oh no, go on, you do it!’ There might be all of that. But at the end of the day I’m not going to refuse.”
YouTuber GK Barry
GK Barry was rumoured to be starring on the Strictly Come Dancing 2024 series but perhaps the reason she isn’t on the dancefloor is because she has signed up to I’m A Celebrity.
The TikTok and YouTube star, whose real name is Grace Keeling, rocketed to fame on TikTok during the Covid pandemic in 2020 and went on to launch her own vodcast Saving Grace on YouTube in 2022. TV bosses are likely hoping to appeal to Gen Z with signing the YouTuber.
She can’t wait to meet Ant and Dec in person for the first time after joining them on Instagram Live two years ago at the request of fans. She said: “They (Ant & Dec) went: ‘What is a GK Barry?’, and now we have gone from that to me being on the show. It has gone full circle. I can’t wait to meet them in Australia in the jungle. I am also excited to meet everyone on the programme, as the cast is always so amazing.”
The YouTuber is looking forward to being away from social media. “I am imagining this as a retreat,” she said. “I can’t wait to not have to be on social media and I think the small food portions in camp will be fine too.”
Dean McCullough
A lesser known name for sure but BBC star Dean McCullough has set his sights on the jungle.
The Northern Irish radio presenter is best known for his role presenting BBC Radio 1. I’m A Celebrity has had great success with DJs in the past, and bosses are likely to hope he would be popular with viewers at home, especially Jordan North who rocketed to new heights of fame following his stint on the ITV show.
McCullough didn’t mind admitting he was terrified of what is to come.
He said: “I am terrified of everything and the more I think about being put in the ground with 50 snakes or getting those green fly things that bite poured over me – well there’s just no point thinking about it, as otherwise I won’t get on the plane!
“When Ant & Dec say things like, ‘We are going to suspend you off the side of that cliff’, you know it is not going to be a fun day out. It’s no Alton Towers – it will be torturous. I made the mistake of watching episode one from last year and I nearly passed out watching it. I had to turn it off. And I hate cockroaches. There was a cockroach in a hostel I stayed in once and I checked out during the middle of the night, as the thought of it — urgh, even talking about it now gives me the chills.”
Melvin Odoom
DJ and presenter Melvin Odoom had been tipped for the 2021 jungle series so his signing is almost three years in the making.
Having watched his friend Marvin Humes on last year’s series, he hopes he will look as good in the jungle shower. “I want to look like Marvin did last year when he looked sick in the shower!” He said, laughing.
He added: “Over the years, loads of my mates have done it – Joel Dommett who I love to bits, Roman Kemp, Jordan North and I am very close to Marvin Humes.”
The presenter isn’t thinking about the Bushtucker trials, instead he’s focussing on the positives. He said: “Ant and Dec will be there, I will get to meet some really cool and talented people – and so I am trying to appreciate all of those positive aspects rather than think about lying in a coffin with creepy crawlies on my face, as I know that will freak me out. I am scared of everything.”
