Joanna Page has revealed that her Gavin & Stacey co-stars Ruth Jones and James Corden are backing her bid to become Queen of the Jungle on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, with Ruth planning to campaign for her on social media.
The 49-year-old actress is among the 11 famous faces confirmed for the ITV reality show, which returns on Monday (November 16) at 9pm, hosted by Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly. She will feature in the 2026 edition alongside Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, TV personality Chloe Burrows and Coronation Street star Claire Sweeney.
Support from Co-Stars
Joanna, who played Stacey Shipman in the BBC sitcom, said Ruth had sent her a deeply personal message telling her how proud she was, while both Ruth and James Corden have promised to drum up votes to keep her in the show. She is second favourite to win alongside former England football captain Wayne.
Speaking ahead of entering camp, she said: "The first thing I had was messages from Ruth Jones and James Corden going, 'Oh my God, you're going into the jungle! Well, this is going to be hilarious TV. Can't wait to see you'." She added that Ruth's message was particularly moving: "And then before I left, Ruth sent me the most loveliest message, just telling me how proud she was of me, and that you know to go out there and go for it, and she just loves me and just is really really proud of me."
Campaigning and Social Media
Joanna said both TV pals were looking forward to watching her tackle the Bushtucker Trials. "Just knowing that your friends are there and they're supporting you, they're looking forward to laughing at you as well and what you're going to be getting up to," she said.
She revealed Ruth was preparing to campaign for her on social media, recalling: "I've already said to them, said to the pair of them, 'You better be doing that QR code. You better keep me in there.'" Ruth replied: "Don't worry, I've already composed my message that I'm going to be sending out on Instagram. We're fully supporting you."
Ruth has already posted a photograph of herself with Joanna, accompanied by a message from her Gavin & Stacey alter ego Nessa. In the Instagram post on Tuesday (November 10), Nessa warned Stacey about the food she might have to eat in the jungle, joking about her mother Gwen's infamous omelettes. The caption read: "The glorious @iamjoannapage has gone into the jungle and I'm beyond excited…and my friend Nessa Jenkins said: 'O! Stace - they're gonna make you stick all manner of matter in your gob. And I'm not talking Gwen's omelettes…just don't over do it, alrigh'? You knows what a weak constitution you has."
Aiming for the Crown
Joanna admitted she would love to become the first Welsh Queen of the Jungle. She said: "Oh, I think I would absolutely love to become the first Welsh Queen of the Jungle. It would be such a huge, huge honor."
Despite her competitive streak, she revealed she was already struggling with being separated from her four children. Joanna and her husband, former Emmerdale actor James Thornton, 51, have daughters Eva, 13, and Boe, four, and sons Kit, 11, and Noah, nine. The couple married in December 2003 and live in Oxfordshire. I'm A Celebrity returns to ITV1 and ITVX on Monday, November 16, at 9pm.
