I’m A Celeb star ‘quits’ days before ITV show return - as full line-up is ‘revealed’
A 2024 star of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! has allegedly dropped out, leaving bosses to rope in a last-minute replacement. It’s reported that former Rangers footballer Ally McCoist was lined up for the jungle challenge series.
However, he's said to have got cold feet and pulled out. The football star, who played for Scotland and is best known as a commentator, was one of the 11 rumoured stars originally believed to have been secured for this year’s series. According to The Express, this is the third time Ally has been wooed by bosses for the jungle experience, but he has yet to make it to camp.
ITV chiefs have now successfully roped in renowned Irish boxer Barry McGuigan. An insider told The Express: "Barry is a bonafide sporting legend, and he's a great person to have heading for the jungle. When he rose to fame in the 1980s as the WBA featherweight boxing champ, he became a non-sectarian ambassador.
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"He fought for both Ireland and Great Britain and was loved and respected on both sides of the divide. There's not many who can say that."
Barry won the ITV cooking challenge Hell's Kitchen back in 2007. Still sprightly at 63, the boxing legend maintains fighting form with dedicated exercise and weightlifting regimes.
In 2017, Barry’s boxing counterpart Amir Khan was part of the I’m A Celeb lineup, and McGuigan playfully teased him on his less-than-stellar performance during a Bushtucker Trial involving a snake. Amir will now get a ringside seat to see Barry face the challenges and give his own verdict.
I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! will be back on TV screens later this month with hosts Ant and Dec ready to put a new set of celebrities through gruelling challenges in the Australian jungle.
It is set to feature a host of stars, including Coronation Street's stalwart Alan Halsall who missed out last year due to a knee injury. Wag queen Coleen Rooney, Love Island ’s Maura Higgins – swooping in after Tommy Fury dropped out – and the ex-X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos are also joining the jungle antics.
Oti Mabuse, of Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing on Ice fame, as well as McFly's heartthrob Danny Jones, will also feature. Danny’s bandmate Dougie Poynter was crowned King of the Jungle in 2011.
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