This year's I'm a Celebrity campmates are being tipped as the most "jungle ready" lineup in the programme's history, with insiders pointing to the survival credentials of several contestants.
Paralympian Ade Adepitan spent four weeks trekking 220 miles through the Nicaraguan jungle in a customised wheelchair, while Mariella Frostrup has tackled the foothills of Mount Everest and explored remote parts of South America. YouTube star Sharky has completed a 24-hour survival challenge in the Australian outback, and model Leomie Anderson experienced jungle life in Costa Rica during Netflix's Celebrity Bear Hunt. Big Brother host AJ Odudu braved the Chilean Andes on Channel 4's Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
Insiders: Casting Team Surprised by Experience
A show insider said: "The show can be very tough at times especially when the weather turns and hunger kicks in but this year's jungle intake are much more hardy than usual and should be able to take being in the wilderness in their stride. The casting team couldn't believe it when the extent of the contestants' experience became clear - it should, in theory, be a walk in the park for some of them."
Ade, 53, first showed his adventurous side on BBC Two's Beyond Boundaries in 2005, joining ten fellow disabled adventurers on a four-week expedition across Nicaragua. Led by former SAS major Ken Hames, Ade travelled from the Atlantic to the Pacific, navigating tropical rainforests, rivers and mountains.
Ade Adepitan's Volcano Climb
The expedition included an attempt to scale the Concepción volcano, where teammates first tried to drag his wheelchair up the slopes with ropes. When the terrain became too difficult, he left the wheelchair and continued on his hands and knees.
He recalled: "I just got out of the chair, and as I got out of the chair, I'm like, 'I'm getting up this volcano one way or another. I don't care how I get up it, I'm just going to get up it'. I just started crawling and I remember all of them looking at me just thinking, 'What is he doing?' It was a live volcano, and it was boiling hot, burning hot. Every time I was touching the ground, I could feel it burning my hands, burning my knees."
Mariella, 63, brings years of trekking experience in isolated locations worldwide. The broadcaster met her husband, human rights lawyer Jason McCue, in the foothills of Mount Everest. Discussing her love of rambling in challenging environments, she said: "That's why I like a hill and a storm." She has also completed the Inca Trail in Peru and has expressed interest in journeying through the Colombian jungle with her husband. During an interview earlier this year, she said: "I have more of an appetite for adventure and also a sense of 'it's now or maybe never' – so time to get on with it."
Sharky, Leomie and AJ's Tough Backgrounds
Sharky, 30, tackled the Australian wilderness in a Beta Squad YouTube challenge titled We Survived 24 Hours In The Jungle in July 2023. He partnered with fellow content creator King Kenny to compete against Niko Omilana and Chunkz, with both teams dropped in different locations and given maps and compasses to navigate the Outback.
Leomie, 33, ventured into the Costa Rican jungle for Netflix's Celebrity Bear Hunt alongside Mel B and Boris Becker. She became the first celebrity eliminated and later said she had been "robbed" of the chance to show what she could do.
AJ, 38, took part in Channel 4's Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in 2019, enduring a military-style selection process in the Chilean Andes. She faced sub-zero temperatures, physical trials and spartan living conditions, as well as a 13-hour interrogation, and later said the ordeal left her needing professional counselling. She admitted: "Three months after I was still seeing a therapist because I was so traumatised by the whole experience."
Other famous faces in the line-up include Wayne Rooney, who was seen at Manchester airport today, Joanna Page, Claire Sweeney, Ricky Wilson, Chloe Burrows, Leigh Francis and Jack Skipper.
