I’m a Celeb 2024: Meet this year’s contestants, from Coleen Rooney to McFly singer Danny Jones

I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! is in full swing, with the ITV series having kicked out its first star of the season.

So who is left to take on the nail-biting challenges and gruesome eating tasks as they compete to be crowned King or Queen of the jungle?

Among them are TV personality Coleen Rooney, Strictly star Oti Mabuse and McFly singer Danny Jones.

They are hoping to follow in the footsteps of presenter and former Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson, who was crowned the show’s latest winner in December 2023.

Find the full lineup below…

Jane Moore – ELIMINATED

Loose Women star Jane Moore became the first contestant to be booted from the series on Friday (29 November). The journalist found herself in the bottom two alongside Dean McCollough but was ultimately elinated, having received the fewest votes from fans.

Reacting to the news, she said: “Hard work does not get rewarded, let’s put it that way.” Many viewers took her comments to be a dig at her fellow campmates, namely McCollough who has come under fire for dodging chores.

Moore followed in the foosteps of fellow Loose Women stars Janet Street-Porter, Frankie Bridge and Charlene White. Moore, who first appeared on the ITV panel show in 1999, said she thought her role in camp will be a “shoulder to cry on”.

“I have been on this planet a long time and I will be the person who will try to help them out,” she admitted. “My two daughters are really up for me doing it and my youngest one keeps telling me: ‘Mum, it is going to be amazing’. If there is someone young in there struggling, I know it will appeal to my maternal side.”

Describing herself as an “organised person”, she also admitted that she is trying to look at the Bushtucker Trials in a logical manner. “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!”

Oti Mabuse

Oti Mabuse, best known for her six year stint as a Strictly Come Dancing professional, said she was absolutely “terrified” of snakes ahead of her debut on I’m a Celebrity.

Mabuse has won Strictly twice, with celebrity partners Kelvin Fletcher and Bill Bailey, and she currently appears as a judge on Dancing on Ice.

Speaking about what she thinks her role would be ahead of her arrival in Australia, she said she would be the “fun dancing mum” and hopes to teach her fellow campmates some new moves.

The dancer said she signed up for the show because she wants to get back to her “adventurous and fun” self after giving birth to her daughter in December 2023.

“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.”

She added: “As a new mum, I am going to use it to my advantage. I am going to catch up on a whole year’s sleep!”

Alan Halsall

Coronation Street star Alan Halsall, who has played Tyrone Dobbs in the soap for 26 years, has joked that his I’m a Celebrity appearance was the “worst kept secret” after he was forced to pull out last year to have major knee surgery.

“It feels like the worst kept secret ever! It was a bit of a shock when I got the knee injury last year,” he said ahead of his entry to the jungle.

Halsall admitted he only eats “bland food” at home, so he isnt isn’t very worried about the small portions in camp. He did, however, say that leaving his daughter, Sienna, behind would be incredibly tough.

“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.”

Dean McCullough – ELIMINATED

Northern Irish BBC Radio 1 DJ Dean McCullough admitted he was “terrified of everything” ahead of his arrival in the jungle.

McCullough started presenting for the station in 2020, standing in for Clara Amfo, and in September 2022 he replaced Scott Mills and Chris Stark, alongside Vicky Hawkesworth, as hosts of Radio 1’s afternoon show.

“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!” he said.

He added that he once spotted a cockroach in a hostel he was staying in and he immediately checked out.

“I will give everything a go,” he said. “I want to try and get some stars for everyone. I have travelled the world, I have backpacked, taught in orphanages and I have gone through the mill several times. But I am 32 now and it’s time to start a new chapter and learn a bit more about who I am. A three-week therapy session is the perfect way to describe this.”

Tulisa Contostavlos – ELIMINATED

N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos has admitted that she avoided joining the programme in the past because she was so terrified.

However, she has now said she’s ready to conquer her fears.

“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.”

Describing herself as the “mummy of N-Dubz”,  the singer added that she hopes to be able to show fans her “true authentic self” and to “connect with people”.

“My number one mission is to be my true authentic self,” she vowed. “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.”

Melvin Odoom – ELIMINATED

Radio 1 DJ and presenter Melvin Odoom has said he was inspired to enter the jungle by his friends who had already been on the show, such as Marvin Humes, who was on the programme last year.

“Marvin has given me some advice on what to expect in camp,” he said. “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,” he said.

The presenter said he was worried about the lack of food available at camp, and that he becomes a “different person” if he hasn’t eaten enough. “I am Moody Melvin! It’s very rare, but I will try my best to do all the Trials,” he said.

Odoom said it wasn’t the creepy crawlies that were worrying him – but he’s conscious about his loud snoring at nighttime.

“Snoring is my biggest fear. I have been trying to train myself, as messing with people’s sleep is a big deal. I might be the camp’s enemy if my snoring comes out. It’s loud!”

Coleen Rooney

The TV personality and wife of former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is said to have secured the biggest deal in the show’s history, which would surpass that of Farage and presenter Noel Edmonds with a fee of over £1.5m.

Ahead of her arrival in the jungle, Rooney, who recently won the high-profile “Wagatha Christie” libel case filed against her by Rebekah Vardy, said she doesn’t have any phobias and is ready for the challenge.

What will she miss the most about being away from home? “Aside from my family and friends, my phone and a pen and notepad. I love jotting things down.”

Explaining why now is the right time to enter the jungle, Rooney said it was a combination of timing and her children being old enough.

“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.”

Would she like to be crowned Queen of the Jungle?  “Of course it would be lovely to win,” she said. “But if I don’t, then I will get to see the kids! Whatever I do in life, I like to put my all into it and so if I am going in there, it would be nice to stay until the end.”

Barry McGuigan

Former boxing champion Barry McGuigan has said he thinks he will take a referee role in camp.

“I acted as a referee and appeaser in Hell’s Kitchen. But this is different. A whole different set of circumstances. It’ll be a challenge,” he said. “I would imagine I’ll be one of the elders and you can look at that in a calming down way. I might get irritated. I really don’t know.”

He added: “I’m the consoler when the guys have a hard day in the gym and they haven’t sparred particularly well. I put my arm around their shoulder and say, ‘Listen, that’s just the way it is. Tomorrow will be different.’ So I go back to the ‘elder’ position.”

McGuigan admitted he can’t cook – it’s his wife who does the cooking – so he won’t be much help at dinnertime in the camp.

“I still can’t cook! My fabulous wife does all of that for me. I’d be willing to help out. If nobody else can do it, I’d be happy to chip in. But I’m pretty good at cleaning,” he said. “My wife and my three sons and my seven grandchildren come around, I end up doing the cleaning up. We’ve got a good old bit of team work going.”

GK Barry

Loose Women star and content creator GK Barry – real name Grace Keeling – admitted she is “terrified of everything” ahead of her I’m a Celebrity arrival.

She explained: “I haven’t slept in a month. I am scared of the Trials and I am genuinely scared of everything. The eating trial to me is the worst thing you can do to a human being. You also don’t know who you are going to click with either but hopefully after the first week, I will settle in nicely.”

The influencer added she will miss her girlfriend and cat the most while being in the jungle.

“When you are missing home and all you want is your comfort people, then that will be hard if they are not there,” she explained. “But my girlfriend is also very excited for me and thinks I will do really well.”

She then joked: “I have got her a cardboard cut out of me so it’s not weird when I am away!”

Danny Jones

McFly singer Danny Jones could be following in the footsteps of his bandmate Dougie Poynter, who won the show in 2011. The singer, who’s currently a judge on ITV singing competition The Voice, has said he’s ready to be pushed out of his comfort zone and learn more about himself.

To prepare for camp, he said he had cut out coffee and was eating less to lower his appetite.

Asked if his bandmates would give him a hard time if he didn’t win, Jones said he wasn’t expecting that. “They are competitive, the boys. But I don’t think so… I don’t want to think about winning, it’s too much pressure.”

Maura Higgins

Love Island star Maura Higgins is only the second Islander to brave the Australian outback, after Olivia Atwood’s fleeting 48-hour appearance on the show in 2022.

Her fame on the ITV dating show led her to further TV work including Dancing on Ice and Cooking with the Stars, as well as serving as agony aunt on This Morning.

Higgins said she is scared of “absolutely everything” but hopes to show her “vulnerable side, and talk about work rather than boys”.

She said she hopes her stint in the jungle will serve as a detox as she spends time without her phone, makeup, and fake tan.

“It will be nice to strip back. I love my fake tan but I am excited to be without it. My skin is going to be flawless. It really is a detox and I am excited to have a phone detox too.”

Reverend Richard Coles

First rising to fame for being a member of Eighties band The Communards, Coles went on to study Theology and became ordained as a priest in 2005.

”I don’t think there are many precedents for this, although, vicars have been going into jungles for years and years and years as missionaries,” he said ahead of his entrance.

The Reverend has a fear of heights but he doesn’t want his fellow campmates to find out. He’s also worried about the other celebs “wanting to kill me” because of his seriously loud snoring.

Other than his loved ones, he’s going to miss his phone and the piano. Although he enjoys cooking and being “adventurous” with his diet, he doesn’t know how he’ll fare with the Bushtucker Trial.