Published by Mason Oldridge, 10 December 2024
CONTAINS SPOILERS!
The jungle drums could be heard once again as a new batch of celebrities headed down under.
The famous faces challenging themselves this year were Coronation Street star Alan Halsall, N-Dubz singer Tulisa, McFly star Danny Jones, boxing legend Barry McGuigan, Loose Women panellist Jane Moore, social media influencer GK Barry, Radio 1 DJ Dean McCullough, media personality Coleen Rooney, TV and radio presenter Melvin Odoom and professional dancer Oti Mabuse. This year’s camp was widely known as one of the best lineups, in part due to how everyone opened up early on and the lack of fallouts.
It is seemingly an annual tradition for one to become the target for everyday trials and this time was no different as it was Dean heading down to the trial clearing each morning. Saying the infamous words early on, his performance each day slowly improved, though later on, he was criticised for not evenly contributing to the camp chores. Late arrivals Love Island star Maura Higgins and the Reverend Richard Coles entered the luxurious Junkyard camp, though had to convince the others that they were living in poverty to win everyone a buffet, which created some of the most hilarious moments in the series. There were emotional times such as Barry talking about his daughter’s death, Danny opening up about his anxiety and therapy and Oti comforting a struggling Melvin. There were budding friendships too as Danny and Barry adopted a father-son relationship, Oti and Melvin were like siblings and there was the unlikely companionship between Richard and GK. As always, there were funny and interesting conversations in camp too, such as Coleen discussing the Wagatha Christie trial and life in the Rooney household, Tulisa on her drug trial and Maura on the media’s twisted reporting of her personal life, though it was Richard who had the most bizarre stories! Ultimately, it was Danny who was deservingly crowned King of the Jungle.
With more terrifying trials, madcap challenges, hilarious moments, plus some insightful and emotive ones, I’m a Celebrity continues to reign as the champion of British reality TV.
9/10