Coleen Rooney makes a chaotic entrance to the I'm A Celeb camp
by GERAINT LLEWELLYN FOR MAILONLINE · Mail OnlineColeen Rooney made a splash during Sunday night's opening episode of I'm A Celeb as the ITV show's hosts Ant and Dec left viewers in hysterics with gags about her infamous Wagatha Christie trial before her very chaotic arrival into camp.
Viewers watched as Coleen managed to capsize her canoe in the opening minutes of the show, shortly after the cheeky quip from Ant & Dec, who teased: 'It’ll be nice for Coleen to face a trial that doesn’t involve Rebekah Vardy'.
Ant then promised: 'There will be plenty more [of these jokes]!' as fans rushed to social media branding the pair 'legends'.
The pair were true to their words and later when revealing the campmates were getting to know to each other and delving into their personal lives, said: 'First up it's the account of .... Coleen Rooney' - in reference to her viral social media post where she accused Rebekah of leaking 'false stories' about her private life to the press.
Coleen and Radio 1 DJ Dean McCullough got off to a rough start as their boat capsized in the tense first challenge as the 10 celebs were tasked to race down the river on a rowing boat, before quickly capsizing.
The boat drama was part of a big budget opening to the series which also saw Danny Jones, Tulisa, Jane Moore, Dean, and Oti Mabuse skydive into the jungle.
Meanwhile, Barry McGuigan, GK Barry, Alan Halsall, Coleen, and Melvin Odoom waited at the beach for the other five campmates to join them.
The celebrities doing the sky dive then had to take their turns to pick which celebrity they wanted to compete in a race to the finish line.
Once it was Dean's choice to pick between Coleen or his Radio 1 colleague Melvin, he said: 'Melvin, I’m so so sorry! Wagatha Christie you’re coming with me!'.
Before getting into their boats, the celebrities had to find a key, hidden inside a Hell Hole on the river bank.
Each Hell Hole had multiple keys inside, as well as some critters along the way. One of the keys unlocked one of the packlocks holding a boat, with the others being decoys which didn't unlock anything.
Viewers were left in hysterics at GK Barry as she searched the critter filled Hell Hole, screaming and jumping up and down as she put her hand into a box filled with cockroaches.
The podcast star was seen with mascara running down her face as she screamed 'There's one in my pants!'
Once a pair unlocked a boat, they could immediately begin rowing to their next challenge. Dean and Coleen who were Team Yellow, had trouble though as their boat began to fill with water and capsize.
Dean said: 'On the sign it said choose your boat wisely, and now we know why!'
Dean had a bright idea for him and Coleen to block the hole in their boat with his jacket and her scarf, but they quickly started to sink again.
Recalling the race, Dean joked: 'There is nothing more petrifying than a Barry McGuigan on a mission. We were the Titanic, they were the iceberg and we all know how that story ends!'
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Neck and neck, Alan Halsall and Tulisa reached the river bank first, unlocking the final stage, and pulled a tag to let off a flare and win the race, along with the coveted title of first camp leaders.
After finally making it to camp Coleen gave her campmates, and viewers at home, some rare insight into her personal life, revealing how her husband Wayne 'fought to get her'.
As she settled in with her campmates, she didn't shy away from speaking about their love life.
Her 16-year marriage to Wayne – whom she met when they were both 12 while growing up in Liverpool – has not been without its public scandals.
The WAG, who married the football legend in 2008, revealed 'it wasn't love at first sight' when she first met Wayne.
Sitting around the campfire, Coleen chatted to her fellow campmates and Oti asked: 'And it was love at first sight?'
Coleen replied: 'No it was for him, not for me. He fought to get me, yeah.
'I waited until I’d done my GCSEs and then I went on a date. I was pretty good at school.'
Opening up further about their first date at the cinema, she admitted: 'We had a kiss around the church first.'
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Elsewhere in Sunday's opening episode, viewers were left taken aback by Dean, advising him to 'calm down' after his hyper entrance - but he soon won them over with his hilarious chat with Coleen.
The Radio 1 DJ, 32, was the third celebrity to arrive into a luxury villa where the first group of stars met and immediately began jumping up and down and hugging Oti and Tulisa.
The first group, also made up of Danny and Jane, were tasked with drinking a grim smoothie before hopping on a helicopter in the order they finished their smoothies.
Dean gagged several times while drinking his but did manage to finish in fourth place, ahead of Oti.
While the presenter was undoubtedly very excited to begin his time on the ITV series, some viewers said thye found him 'annoying'.
Taking to X, viewers wrote: 'Dean getting on everyone's nerves five minutes into the episode'... 'Ah Dean is going to be the one isn't he, annoying me already!
'Dean is getting on my wick already'... 'OK Dean calm down'... 'Dean's already annoying'... 'That's three weeks of Dean doing trials then.'
But he quickly won over viewers however when, after skydiving onto the beach, he chose to partner up with Coleen.
The pair rushed to a car to drive to camp and viewers were left in stitches when Coleen said: 'I'm used to driving big cars.'
Dean immediately replied: 'Of course you are babes... I used to drive a Ford Fiesta.'
Following their Wagatha jokes, Ant and Dec were also quick to throw shade at Tommy Fury at the start of the show amid reports that 'he pulled out last minute for a more lucrative opportunity'.
He was said to have pulled out of the show to fight YouTuber KSI instead.
And the Geordie duo couldn't resist making a jibe at Tommy as they celebrated getting Barry McGuigan to do the show.
They said they managed to get such a big name because 'it was either do this or fight a YouTuber on Netflix'.
Fans were in hysterics after the I'm A Celeb hosts made a savage dig at the former Love Island star.
Taking to X, viewers penned: 'It was either do this or fight a YouTuber on Netflix #ImACeleb',
'Either do this or fight a YouTuber on Netflix” #imaceleb', 'Fight a YouTuber on Netflix … the burn #ImACeleb',
Hours before the ITV series aired, it was confirmed the boxer will make his long-awaited return to boxing in January.
Later McFly's Danny was thrown straight into jungle life with a snake slithering up into his shorts after taking part in the very first Bushtucker Trial of the series
The singer, 38, was forced to unzip his shorts as the reptile surprised Danny while he took part in The Mausoleum of Misery trial along with former boxer Barry McGuigan.
They were both locked in individual chambers with five stars each up for grabs, secured with padlocks. Within the chambers there are tiles on the floor, with suggested codes to unlock each one of the five padlocks.
On the sound of the claxon Danny & Barry began the trial, however they weren't in the chamber alone as they were joined by 15 snakes each.
Whilst Danny stormed ahead collecting stars, Barry appeared to struggle, as he couldn't see the numbers in the dark.
Midway through the trial, Danny revealed: 'I've got a snake up my shorts!', prompting host Dec to joke: 'That is what's known here as a trouser snake'.
At the end of the trial, Danny got all 5 stars while Barry collected none.
Danny then asked: 'Can you get it out of my shorts!'
Danny was seen unzipping his shorts revealing where the huge snake had nestled and an animal handler was called in to safely remove it.
TikTok star GK left viewers once more in hysterics as she met boxer Barry, the pair introduced themselves before she asked: 'Oh you're the original Barry, what do you do?' - having no idea who the sporting legend was.
Very humbly, Barry explained: 'Well, I used to be professional boxer, now were talking many years ago, I used to be World Champion believe it or not.
Grace replied: 'Oh cool, that was very humbly said, I would have started off with that.'
He added: 'Back in 1985,' prompting Grace, who was born in 1999, to reply, 'Oh yeah I wasn't even born'.
Fans quickly took to X - formerly known as Twitter - to say the podcast star is going to be really funny while others praised Barry for being a 'legend' and a 'gentleman'.
'Oh yeh I wasn’t born lol legend; Barry’s an absolute legend what a gentleman he is; I can’t she’s to funny; I like her already, she’s going to be funny'.
Coleen has previously revealed that her plan to publicly share the leaker on Instagram in October 2019, was all her own.
She said: 'In the night I started thinking about what I was going to do. I just wanted these stories to stop.'
But did she do a classic firing up of the Notes app at 3am?
She explained: 'No. I like a pen and paper – a pencil and rubber, actually, so I can rub it out. So I started writing what I wanted to say and then the next morning I put it out there. That was the start of something that I would never have expected.'
Coleen added that she didn't tell a soul what she was about to do. 'No. [The part] my friends and family were most surprised at me [for was] putting the post up.'
Coleen was awarded costs by the court and £800,000 of the total amount due was payable immediately.
Rebekah was said to have scored one of the worst own goals in British legal history after a High Court judge dismissed her evidence as 'evasive or implausible' and accused her of deliberately deleting WhatsApp messages central to the case.
Her agent, Caroline Watt, was also accused of intentionally dropping her phone in the North Sea.
Coleen gave a subtle nod to her Wagatha Christie trial against fellow WAG Rebekah as she prepared to enter the jungle.
The WAG, 38 - who is reportedly being paid £1.5million - spoke in an interview with ITV ahead of taking on the Jungle.
She was asked 'Aside from your family, who/what else will you miss in camp?' - to which she answered: 'Aside from my family and friends, my phone and a pen and notepad. I love jotting things down.'
Previously Coleen has told how she concocted her bombshell Wagatha statement with a pencil, pad and rubber.
Meanwhile Rebekah has propositioned ITV with the idea of getting her latest series so she can confront her rival.
The WAG, 42, headed Down Under herself back in 2017, yet is willing to face the critters again and arrive as a surprise late entry if it means she gets to hatch her 'revenge plot' against her rival.
Teasing an epic reunion between the pair, Rebekah told The Sun: 'If people really want us to meet up before that, then ITV should get me in that jungle as a special guest. What are they scared of? Confrontation? But isn’t that what the show’s all about? It’s about viewing figures.'
Continuing to hit back at Coleen, she added: 'Coleen’s legal team were very dismissive about my reality TV past. They mocked it. So for her to be doing the jungle now, it’s hypocrisy at its finest, isn’t it?
'I think there was always a plan for reinvention. She stayed out of the public eye for so long.'
While Rebekah admitted she will watch Coleen on the show, she believes the wife of Wayne Rooney will have a game plan going in as she described her as 'quite calculated'.
It is believed Rebekah's team of lawyers will be on high alert and ready to take action if her archenemy says anything derogatory about her on air.
Meanwhile Rebekah was unveiled as The Sun's I'm A Celeb columnist on Friday as she joked she hopes Coleen is forced to 'eat penis or humble pie' in the I'm A Celebrity jungle.
Rebekah blasted Coleen in a furious rant, admitting she is looking forward to watching Coleen chomp down on some 'jungle nasties'.
A-listers have previously been forced to eat things like kangaroo testicles, camel toes, grubs, and mouse tails on previous seasons of the grueling competition.
When asked if there is anything particular she would like to watch Coleen eat, she said: 'Yeah, penis. Or humble pie.
Then when asked if a camel testicle would be the worst thing Wayne Rooney's wife Coleen has ever had in her mouth, Rebekah said: 'I don't know. You have to look at her husband for that one.'
I'M A CELEBRITY 2024: MEET THE ALL STAR LINE UP
OTI MABUSE
AGE: 34
OCCUPATION: Professional dancer
FAMOUS FOR: Oti is best known for being a professional dancer on the British television series Strictly Come Dancing, which she won in 2019 and 2020.
DANNY JONES
AGE: 38
OCCUPATION: McFly singer
FAMOUS FOR: Danny is one of the lead vocalists and the lead guitarist for pop-rock band McFly.
He is also a coach on The Voice UK.
BARRY MCGUIGAN
AGE: 63
OCCUPATION: Retired professional boxer
FAMOUS FOR: Barry was nicknamed The Clones Cyclone and held the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 1985 to 1986.
GK BARRY
AGE: 25
OCCUPATION: TikTok star
FAMOUS FOR: Grace is known for her comedic commentary on culture, lifestyle, and fashion. She has over 3.6 million followers and recently joined the Loose Women panel.
DEAN MCCULLOUGH
AGE: 32
OCCUPATION: Radio 1 DJ
FAMOUS FOR: Radio 1 DJ Dean has been signed by I'm A Celeb bosses, in the hope that he will ruffle feathers with his outspoken views.
Earlier this year it was announced Dean would be taking over the BBC Radio 1 Early Breakfast Show, after previously fronting the afternoon slot.
JANE MOORE
AGE: 62
OCCUPATION: Journalist
FAMOUS FOR: Jane is best known as a panellist and anchor of Loose Women between 1999 and 2002.
She returned as a regular panellist from 2013 onwards.
Jane takes on the challenge following her high-profile split from husband of 20 years, Showbiz agent, Gary Farrow.
MELVIN ODOOM
AGE: 44
OCCUPATION: DJ and TV presenter
FAMOUS FOR: His work on radio. Melvin was previously courted by I'm A Celeb bosses back in 2021, but turned down the offer at the last minute.
He also had a primetime stint on Strictly back in 2016.
COLEEN ROONEY
AGE: 38
OCCUPATION: WAG
FAMOUS FOR: Wagatha Christie case against arch rival Rebekah Vardy.
Reports claim that she has been offered the biggest deal in the show's history, exceeding Nigel Farage's £1.5million from last year.
ALAN HALSALL
AGE: 42
OCCUPATION: Actor
FAMOUS FOR: Coronation Street actor Alan Halsall was forced to withdraw from I'm A Celeb last year, after undergoing ACL Reconstruction surgery.
Bosses have now convinced the actor to sign up again, and no doubt he will draw in a huge fanbase thanks to his long-running role as Tyrone Dobbs on the soap.
TULISA
AGE: 36
OCCUPATION: Singer and former X Factor judge
FAMOUS FOR: Tulisa reunited with N-Dubz last year for a tour after first finding fame with the band in 2007.
In 2011, she became a judge on The X Factor and went on to launch her debut solo album, The Female Boss.
She released her fourth album with N-Dubz last year.