I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here bosses are said to believe that Wayne Rooney and Joanna Page will 'slog it out' for viewers' votes, as they predict a battle between the two campmates.
The Manchester United legend and the Gavin & Stacey star are among the 11 famous faces confirmed to be taking part in the hit ITV reality show this year.
Series set to launch with extended special
The new series of I'm A Celeb, once again fronted by presenters Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly, will kick off on Monday night (November 16) at 9pm, for an extended 95-minute special on ITV1 and on ITVX, the broadcaster's streaming platform.
From there, the series will air every night until early December, when the final is expected to take place, and a new King or Queen of the Jungle will be crowned, following in the footsteps of I'm A Celeb's 2025 champion, Angry Ginge, the YouTuber who hails from Salford.
National pride could boost voting numbers
Jungle bosses are hoping a patriotic Battle of Britain between Wayne and Joanna could smash the show's voting records. The pair have emerged as the two early frontrunners to win I'm A Celebrity, raising the prospect of millions of fans rallying behind their respective national heroes.
Last year's final attracted almost 13 million votes - the biggest total in at least a decade - as Ginge, real name Morgan Burtwistle, was crowned King of the Jungle. Now there are hopes among ITV execs that national pride could help push voting figures even higher, with Welsh viewers getting behind Joanna and Wayne counting on his huge following among English football fans.
A jungle insider said: "Clearly anything can happen in camp and favourites can emerge, but there is a real feeling that Wayne and Joanna are destined to slog it out vote-wise among English and Welsh fans of the show. The fact you have an England football captain and an actress synonymous with Wales thanks to Gavin and Stacey is setting us up for a hell of a battle. There is real hope that the rivalry could capture the public imagination and help deliver the biggest vote in the show's history."
Joanna aims for Welsh first
Joanna, 49, has already thrown down the gauntlet by declaring her ambition to become the first Welsh Queen of the Jungle. She said: "I think that would be a pretty good title to take home. But I'm just as excited to see if I can last the distance. I'm not going to crumble. I'm going to see this to the end and I'm going to be strong. I am going to get the most out of this."
And there could be some good-natured rivalry around the campfire after Rooney previously admitted he didn't like Wales at Euro 2016. He said previously: "I always remember the day we got knocked out to Iceland, and the Wales team were watching in the hotel and they're up celebrating. I just thought, they can be happy we got knocked out, no problem. And they're all posting on their social media and I've never forgot that."
Joanna, who was born in Swansea, became a household name playing Stacey Shipman in the BBC comedy Gavin & Stacey. Her character's romance with Essex boy Gavin, played by Mathew Horne, famously revolved around the cultural differences between England and Wales.
Her popularity in her homeland could make her a formidable opponent for Wayne, who is hoping to go one better than his wife Coleen after she finished runner-up to McFly singer Danny Jones in 2024.
