I'm A Celeb star Alan Halsall could be ruled out of show after excruciating injury

Coronation Street's Alan Halsall is among the famous faces signed up for I'm A Celebrity when the show returns on Sunday, however he's still struggling with an injury

Coronation Street's Alan Halsall, famed for his role as Tyrone Dobbs, is set to trade the drama of Weatherfield for the Australian jungle in this year's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! But it's not the spine-tingling Bushtucker trials or the campsite critters that have got the soap star shaking in his boots – it's the thought of being away from his 11 year old daughter Sienna. "I’m quite logical when it comes to adults – I know I’ll miss them for a few weeks but that’s how it is," Alan, aged 42, admits. "When it comes to Sienna, it’s going to be a lot harder to deal with."

Alan, who has been a staple on Corrie for nearly three decades, co-parents Sienna with his ex-wife and former co-star Lucy-Jo Hudson following their split in 2018. Now, he's gearing up for a stint of up to four weeks in the jungle alongside the likes of Coleen Rooney, Strictly's Oti Mabuse and McFly's Danny Jones. Initially, Sienna wasn't too thrilled about her dad's Down Under detour. "She’s only just come around to the idea of me being a part of this show. I’m glad she has, because a couple of weeks ago I was thinking that this was going to be really, really tough," he shares.

The pair have been bonding over episodes of the show, chuckling at the trials, and Sienna is now keen to see her dad braving the creepy-crawlies. "We’ve been watching some of the Bushtucker trials together and having a laugh. I think she’s now excited to see Daddy covered in bugs. She’s already told me that if she can’t watch it every night, she’s going to watch it on her iPad on the way to school in the mornings. I know it’s only a few weeks, but the days are long and most of my thoughts will be about seeing her and what she’s doing. That’s the natural job of a dad!"

Alan Halsall, who's been a fixture on the cobbles as Tyrone in Coronation Street since 1998, fancies a switch-up from his iconic role. "In my first cast picture, I was sitting on the floor asa kid with Sam Aston, Samia Longchambon and Tina O’Brien. We had the newest picture the other week and I had a chair on the front row," he shares. "I thought, ‘I’ve made it to the front!’ But then I realised that just means I’m old. Even though it’s the same job, it feels like a different job every day – but I’m A Celeb is really different. It’s completely out of my comfort zone."

With I’m A Celeb mania gripping the nation, Alan's psyched about joining the ranks of co-stars who've braved the jungle previously like 2019's runner-up Andy Whyment, Sue Cleaver who made the trip in 2022, and on-screen wife Jennie McAlpine back in 2017. "The person I’m closest to is Andy. He’s like the big brother that I never asked for and he’s done both shows – the Australian series and the All Stars edition in South Africa," says Alan. Mocking his pre-jungle regimen, he quipped about still being mates with caffeine and booze, "I’ve just had my second coffee of the day – I haven’t managed to cut down on coffee and I certainly haven’t cut down on Guinness yet," followed by a chuckle. "But how do you prepare to have 10 snakes put on your head?"

Alan was originally set to join the I’m A Celebrity line-up last year, but had to withdraw after injuring his knee and needing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. "I had two months off this time last year to do it, but then I ended up having an operation," he reveals. "I’m still going through some physiotherapy with my knee, and I will be for quite some time. "It’s one of those injuries where there’s a long rehab but on a day-to-day basis, it should be fine. It’s more of a mental battle.

"You’re just thinking, ‘I don’t want to reinjure my knee because it’s such a long process,’ so you get nervous about it."Alan doesn’t need to worry about eating kangaroo testicles on the show, as he's been a vegetarian all his life. "I don’t know why I’m vegetarian, because my family all eat meat. My mum said that I was just adamant from toddler age that I wouldn’t eat meat or fish," he shares. "A couple of years ago, I went away with Sienna and she was eating all this great food so I started to try to eat chicken. I would cut it up into small pieces and hide it in curries – but my dinner was becoming like a Bushtucker trial!"

Despite Tyrone not being central in storylines whilst Alan is battling it out in the jungle, he's eager to get back to Weatherfield as soon as possible – and stay for a good while. "My job is genuinely one of the things I will miss. I love the people and the fact that it’s a different script every day. I can’t wait to go back to domestic non-bliss at No. 9 Coronation Street," he shares with a smile.