Hold on to your Dingo Dollars, the latest season of I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! is on the way. There are two Irish-born contestants, along with the traditional thrills, spills and bug-showers. Plus some tweaks to opening night. Read on to discover more.
When’s it on?
The 24th season of I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! begins on Virgin Media One, Sunday at 9pm. Future episodes will air Monday through to Sunday, again on Virgin Media One, for three weeks.
Any Irish interest?
Speculation that Love Island’s Maura Higgins would pitch her tent in Australia’s Dungay Creek appeared wide of the mark when the line up was initially announced. But rumours are now flying that she will participate as a “late contestant” along with musician (and Cork GAA supporter) Reverend Richard Coles – making the duo this year’s Noel Edmonds (who famously joined a week into the action in 2018)
Ireland will also be represented by former featherweight boxing champion Barry McGuigan and Newtownabbey, Co Antrim-born BBC Radio presenter Dean McCullough.
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McGuigan (63) says he wants to “conquer” the show before he “gets too old”. As competitive as in his boxing heyday, he expects to be in it for the long haul. “I’m not saying I’m going to win,” he told ITV. “But I’d like to be in there for a sustained amount of time so that I can get to know all of the guys in camp.”
He appears to have done his research and is braced for the horrors to come (but enough about presenters Ant and Dec’s one-liners). “Once you’ve made the decision to get into I’m A Celebrity, you have to be willing to do everything,” he said.
“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.
McCullough, meanwhile, has revealed that he hoped he doesn’t end up hanging off a cliff – and that, as a non-drinker, he can fly the flag for teetotallers. You wish him well – fingers crossed he doesn’t see his life flash in front of him the first time he is plunged into a bath of creepy crawlies.
Who are the rest of the contestants?
Wagatha Christie herself, Coleen Rooney, is perhaps the highest profile campmate – having finally said “yes” after years of asking by ITV. “I 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,” she said. “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.”
That leaves seven other contestants. They are former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse, Coronation Street’s Alan Halsall (aka Tyrone Hobbs), Loose Women presenter Jane Moore, ex-X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos, radio host Melvin Odoom, podcaster GK Barry and McFly guitarist (and former Masked Singer winner) Danny Jones.
Who will win?
Presumably because of her already high profile, Coleen Rooney has been installed as a favourite by bookies, with Corrie’s Halsall in second place. McGuigan is a rank outsider with odds in the region of 66/1.
How much are they making?
Rooney is rumoured to be the highest paid jungle resident with a reported fee of £1.5 million (€1.8 million). This would make her the most expensive celeb in the show’s history.
Anything to look out for?
There is a long-standing tradition of the first episode of I’m A Celeb requiring the contestants to participate in a high-wire walk from the roof of a skyscraper. But the producers have scrapped that set piece in 2024 – instead, the celebrities will participate in a race to the camp, with first and second-placed participants getting to stay in the comfy new “Leaders Lodge” and winning an exemption from camp chores. Here’s hoping Barry McGuigan has been brushing up on his sprinting.
