I’m A Celebrity 2024: Live updates as Coleen Rooney, Tulisa and Oti Mabuse vie to become Queen of the Jungle in Australia

They will spend up to three weeks sleeping in the Australian jungle among snakes and spiders while living off one portion of rice and beans a day.

But for some stars heading into the I’m A Celebrity jungle on tonight’s launch episode, the hardest challenge is already over.

From having their phones taken off them and flicking through 900 channels on the TV to three hours filming in the baking Australian heat – the celebs have revealed the ‘awful’ days leading up to the show spent in their hotel rooms which sent them ‘crazy’.

Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have told I’m A Celebrity viewers they have ‘good and bad’ news ahead of tonight’s launch episode.

On their joint Instagram page, Dec said:

Hi everybody, Ant and Dec here. But you knew that. We’ve got a little update for you, because we know lots of you’ve been asking about Jungle Club this year. We’ve got some good news and we got some bad news. I’ll start with the bad news, shall I?

Jungle Club will not be going on straight after the main show. Sorry. The good news is it will be going on straight after the new ITV2 show. Yay!

So we are back, but we’re a little bit later. Yes, we are. It’s Jungle Club: Late & Live. One for all you night owls out there.

Sunday night will see the return of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! where a whole new bunch of stars will be heading to the jungle.

The hugely-popular ITV show has signed some huge names over the years and 2024 is no exception.

Next up to face the wilderness and a selection of trials will be the likes of WAG Coleen Rooney, Strictly’s Oti Mabuse and McFly singer Danny Jones.

And PR expert Riley Gardiner has now estimated how much this year’s stars are being paid in an interview with Ok! Magazine.

Starting with the lowest fees he believes Radio 1 DJ Dean McCullough will have been offered up to £60,000 for the show.

• Read the full story by Amelia Wynne here

Her whirlwind trip to Las Vegas had fans convinced she wasn’t joining this year’s I’m A Celebrity as a late entry.

But MailOnline can reveal Maura Higgins, 33, will arrive in Australia ‘imminently’ and is simply cutting it fine with her partying in Sin City over the weekend.

An ITV source said: ‘She will be arriving this week, the brand trip was always part of the schedule as Maura had agreed to it and it fit into her arrival dates for the Jungle.’

For weeks it’s been rumoured the Love Island star, 33, was a contestant on the ITV flagship show and Maura has done her best to throw fans off the scent in the past few days.

But in an attempt to squeeze out every last ounce of luxury from her lavish lifestyle, Maura accepted a paid-for trip to Vegas with the beauty brand, Space NK, which she knew would be cutting it fine when it came to her arrival Down Under.

ITV is planning to make Coleen Rooney their new golden girl.

The WAG, 38, has signed the biggest ever deal in I’m A Celebrity’s 22-year history, securing an eye-watering £1.5million for her stint in the jungle.

With the series set to launch on Sunday, ITV have already began plotting maximum coverage to make Coleen a huge star, airing her Disney+ Wagatha Christie documentary on Thursday.

According to insiders, network bosses are hoping this will be the start of a long partnership with Coleen, with the door open for ‘huge TV deals’ and offers of This Morning appearances.

A source told MailOnline: ‘ITV have been asking her for I’m A Celebrity for ages but they’ve also asked her to do other shows and get her on This Morning.

• Read the full story by Connie Rusk here

Ruth Langsford is set to travel to Australia later this month to appear on I’m A Celeb spin-off show Unpacked, as she navigates the fallout from her split with husband Eamonn Holmes.

The Loose Women presenter, 64, will join the program to support her co-star Jane Moore, 62, who is a contestant in this year’s ITV series.

The trip comes as Eamonn, also 64, has been seen publicly with his new partner, Katie Alexander, 43, while Ruth showcased a fresh look with blonde hair extensions.

A source revealed to The Sun that the opportunity to join the spin-off show had been a welcome distraction for Ruth during a challenging year.

They said: ‘It’s been a tough year for Ruth and she’s been putting her best foot forward, she’s thrilled to have been asked to appear on this the spin off show and fly to Australia ahead of Christmas.

• Read the full story by Ruth Francis here

Eating a bull’s penis is so much harder than it looks – in every sense of the word.

So when you’re watching Coleen Rooney or NDubz’s Tulisa try to chow down on one during this year’s I’m A Celeb and you scoff, ‘I could do that’ – I guarantee you, you couldn’t.

From the single hair that stared back at me as I lifted it up to my lips and the stale clammy pink colour to the first unnerving crunch prompting an immediate gag reflex – it was just not humanly possible to eat.

• Read the full story behind Dolly’s challenge here

Can’t wait to see what Bushtucker Trials await this year’s celebrities?

We’ve dug out a few from our Mail archive to remind you just how horrifying they can be for those inside the Jungle.

Watch our clips below to see comedian Iain Lee and politician Kezia Dugdale wade through fish guts, Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder bitten by a snake and boxer Amir Khan downing a disgusting smoothie.

We’ve also include the moment presenter Ant McPartlin tried his hand at a challenge in a special programme to lead up to the 20th series.

We hope you enjoy these…

And here’s the one involving Ant McPartlin…

The celebrities in the camp come and go but Ant and Dec are going nowhere.

The TV presenters are back this year to present the ITV show

And ahead of tonight’s launch, the pair have kept fans of the show updated about their Australian exploits which included sharing a video of themselves heading onto the set for the first time.

A caption across the video read: ‘Us seeing the jungle for the first time (this year).’

In the clip, the friends are seen walking across the set before pulling shocked face as Dec falls to his knees.

He is the bookies’ favourite to be crowned this year’s King of the Jungle with the odds 2-1.

When asked why he thought that was, Danny Jones beamed and shouted: ‘Because McFly fans are awesome.’

It is the power of the noughties pop band which ITV insiders are sure will see win this year’s I’m A Celeb having also seen his popularity as a coach on their talent show, The Voice.

The star power that comes with being a member of McFly should not be underestimated with tried and tested magic to help Danny beat the likes of super WAG Coleen Rooney and N-Dubz’s Tulisa.

Danny, along with Harry Judd, Dougie Poynter and Tom Fletcher, launched their group in 2003 off of the back of Busted who were in the process of splitting.

According to the bet365 bookmaker, McFly’s Danny Jones is the favourite to be crowned the winner of the upcoming series which could see him join his bandmate as Jungle royalty.

Meanwhile, a separate gambling website has listed Coleen Rooney as odds-on to take on the first Bushtucker Trial…I’m sure we all know someone who will vote for her

It’s ……….obvious isn’t it?

Here’s a list of previous winners since the show began:

• 2002 – Tony Blackburn
• 2003 – Phil Tufnell
• 2004 – Kerry Katona
• 2004 – Joe Pasquale
• 2005 – Carol Thatcher
• 2006 – Matt Willis
• 2007 – Christopher Biggins
• 2008 – Joe Swash
• 2009 – Gino D’Acampo
• 2010 – Stacey Solomon
• 2011 – Dougie Poynter
• 2012 – Charlie Brooks
• 2013 – Kian Egan
• 2014 – Carl Fogarty
• 2015 – Vicky Pattison
• 2016 – Scarlett Moffatt
• 2017 – Georgia Toffolo
• 2018 – Harry Redknapp
• 2019 – Jacqueline Jossa
• 2020 – Giovanna Fletcher
• 2021 – Danny Miller
• 2022 – Jill Scott
• 2023 – Sam Thompson

Celebrities will spend the next three weeks eating and sleeping at Dungay Creek in Dungay, a town with a population of little more than 300 people.

The nearest big town is Murwillumbah in New South Wales, around 83 miles south of Brisbane.

I’m A Celebrity has been filmed at the same location in Australia, Springbrook National Park, since the second series of the reality show after Queensland was chosen as the inaugural base.

In case you haven’t seen who has entered the Jungle this year, let’s remind ourselves of the celebrities aiming to be crowned King or Queen over the next three weeks:

• Tulisa Contostavlos, 36, pop star who is a member of N-Dubz and a former judge on The X-Factor
• Coleen Rooney, 38, television personality and wife of former England and Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney
• Barry McGuigan, 63, former boxing world champion turned promoter
• Danny Jones, 38, singer and lead guitarist of pop-rock band McFly and judge on most recent season of The Voice
• Melvin Odoom, 44, BBC Radio One DJ and presenter who has also appeared on Strictly Come Dancing
• Oti Mabuse, 34, professional dancer who has appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and is a judge on Dancing on Ice
• Alan Halsall, 42, Coronation Street actor for more than 20 years after joining cast to play mechanic Tyrone Dobbs
• Jane Moore, 62, journalist, author and television presenter who is a regular panellist on ITV’s Loose Women
• GK Barry, 25, internet personality and social media influencer who hosts the Saving Grace podcast
• Dean McCullough, 32, BBC Radio One DJ who also appeared regularly on Big Brother: Late & Live

* Two further additions are expected to the initial line-up with Maura Higgins and Reverend Richard Coles understood to be joining later in the series

Read more on the line-up for this series here

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! as the ITV series returns to the nations screens tonight.

Over the next three weeks we can expect to see celebrities far removed from their comfort zone as they attempt to conquer the Jungle.

Whether it’s taking part in terrifying Bushtucker Trials or struggling to adapt to life in a rat-infested camp, MailOnline will be on hand to bring you the biggest stories from Australia.

Tonight, we will guide you through the launch episode as the newly formed campmates are seen together for the first time since leaving their lives of luxury behind them in the UK.

Stick with us for the latest developments and send us your reaction either by posting in our comments box or me directly at [email protected].

The show starts at 9pm on ITV.