Wayne Rooney has confronted his biggest fear by leaping from a helicopter and parachuting onto a beach in Australia for I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! The former England and Manchester United striker, 41, appeared delighted as he landed at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast.
High-Flying Entrances for Campmates
The dramatic scenes offered a first glimpse of the challenges facing this year's campmates, with Rooney admitting beforehand that heights were his biggest fear. He was not the only famous face making a high-flying entrance. Former Paralympic basketball player Ade Adepitan, 53, also jumped from a helicopter before landing on the sand.
Adepitan was later spotted using an all-terrain power chair on the beach, something he has previously spoken about on social media. The pair were greeted by fellow contestants, including Loose Women star Mariella Frostrup, 64, comedian Jack Skinner, 38, Chloe Burrows, 31, and AJ Odudu, 38.
Launch Episode Details
The group were seen chatting in front of a collection of huge beach buggies before all six appeared to react with surprise to something happening further along the beach. Monday night's launch episode will see the celebrities split into two teams as they begin their jungle adventure in New South Wales.
The Sun previously revealed that some of the stars would be skydiving, while the others would travel by beach buggy to meet their new campmates for the first time. Rooney had already admitted he was particularly nervous about the prospect of jumping from a plane. He said: "My biggest fear is probably to stand on the edge of a plane and jump out, that's terrifying."
Rooney's Previous Skydiving Attempts
The football legend has even booked himself in to go skydiving on three previous occasions, only to back out at the last minute each time. This year's series is due to launch on Monday, November 16, with filming getting underway over the weekend.
Rooney arrived in Australia on Monday, keeping a low profile in an all-grey outfit and baseball cap. He revealed it was his first visit Down Under, telling reporters: "Yeah I've never been to Australia. I was meant to come once when doing Thailand." He also grinned when asked whether he would be joining in with karaoke in camp, a regular feature of the show's jungle parties.
Meanwhile, YouTuber Sharky, 30, insisted he was not concerned about the creepy crawlies waiting for him in the jungle, claiming he already had unwanted visitors at home. He added: "There's cockroaches right now in my living room, so I'll be fine. I'm fine." The 12-strong line-up also features Gavin and Stacey star Joanna Page, Coronation Street actress Claire Sweeney and Victoria's Secret model Leomie Anderson.
