I'm A Celeb star could be ruled out of show after excruciating injury
Coronation Street’s Alan Halsall is swapping domestic chaos on the cobbles for Dingo Dollars down under as he takes part in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! this year. However, what terrifies the soap star most isn’t creepy-crawlies, Bushtucker trials or emptying the camp dunny – it’s being without his 11-year-old daughter Sienna. “I’m quite logical when it comes to adults – I know I’ll miss them for a few weeks but that’s how it is,” says Alan, 42. “When it comes to Sienna, it’s going to be a lot harder to deal with.”
The actor is best known for playing Corrie’s Tyrone Dobbs for nearly 30 years and shares Sienna with ex-wife and former co star Lucy-Jo Hudson, who he split from in 2018. Now, he’s preparing to spend up to four weeks in the Australian jungle with an eclectic bunch of celebs – although Sienna wasn’t too happy about his Aussie adventure at first. “She’s only just come around to the idea of me being a part of this show. I’m glad she has, because a couple of weeks ago I was thinking that this was going to be really, really tough,” he says.
“We’ve been watching some of the Bushtucker trials together and having a laugh. I think she’s now excited to see Daddy covered in bugs. She’s already told me that if she can’t watch it every night, she’s going to watch it on her iPad on the way to school in the mornings. I know it’s only a few weeks, but the days are long and most of my thoughts will be about seeing her and what she’s doing. That’s the natural job of a dad!”
READ MORE: I'm A Celeb star exempt from jungle trial for surprising reason
READ MORE: Children In Need host's dramatic weight loss - leaving wife furious
Alan arrived in Weatherfield as troubled teen Tyrone back in 1998 and, after being involved in some of the soap’s biggest storylines, he reveals that he’s ready for a change of scenery. “In my first cast picture, I was sitting on the floor asa kid with Sam Aston, Samia Longchambon and Tina O’Brien. We had the newest picture the other week and I had a chair on the front row,” he says. “I thought, ‘I’ve made it to the front!’ But then I realised that just means I’m old. Even though it’s the same job, it feels like a different job every day – but I’m A Celeb is really different. It’s completely out of my comfort zone.”
Thankfully, Alan has plenty of co-stars who’ve tackled the jungle – including 2019 runner-up Andy Whyment, Sue Cleaver in 2022 and his on-screen wife Jennie McAlpine in 2017. “The person I’m closest to is Andy. He’s like the big brother that I never asked for and he’s done both shows – the Australian series and the All Stars edition in South Africa,” he says. As for how jungle prep is going, “I’ve just had my second coffee of the day – I haven’t managed to cut down on coffee and I certainly haven’t cut down on Guinness yet,” he laughs. “But how do you prepare to have 10 snakes put on your head?”
Alan was originally meant to join the I’m A Celebrity line-up last year, but pulled out after injuring his knee and requiring anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. “I had two months off this time last year to do it, but then I ended up having an operation,” he says. “I’m still going through some physiotherapy with my knee, and I will be for quite some time. “It’s one of those injuries where there’s a long rehab but on a day-to-day basis, it should be fine. It’s more of a mental battle. You’re just thinking, ‘I don’t want to reinjure my knee because it’s such a long process,’so you get nervous about it.”
Alan doesn’t need to worry about eating kangaroo testicles on the show, having beena vegetarian all his life. “I don’t know why I’m vegetarian, because my family all eat meat. My mum said that I was just adamant from toddler age that I wouldn’t eat meat or fish,” he says. “A couple of years ago, I went away with Sienna and she was eating all this great food so I started to try to eat chicken. I would cut it up into small pieces and hide it in curries – but my dinner was becoming like a Bushtucker trial!”
While Tyrone won’t feature in any big storylines while Alan is in the jungle, he plans on returning to Weatherfield as soon as he can – and for as long as possible. “My job is genuinely one of the things I will miss. I love the people and the fact that it’s a different script every day. I can’t wait to go back to domestic non-bliss at No.9 Coronation Street,” he smiles.
I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! begins on Sunday 17th November at 9pm on ITV1.
