I'M A CELEBRITY STAR IN SHOCK RETURN TO JUNGLE AFTER KISS SCANDAL

Presenter Joel Dommett has told how Seann Walsh is set to make a return to I’m A Celebrity - as a guest on the panel of the spin-off show, Unpacked.

Seann previously appeared on the main show in 2022, where he entered the camp as a late arrival. His casting came after his controversial time on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018, during which he was photographed kissing his professional dance partner, Katya Jones, while both were in relationships.

Walsh finished 11th in the 2022 series, but his return to the Unpacked panel shows he remains a fixture in the show's inner circle. And Joel admits: "I’ve known him for years and years. I’ll always remember that Seann was in a competition with me on my fourth ever gig, he went through to the semi finals and I didn’t. So he beat me in a competition and rightly so, he was better at comedy than me. We’ve buried the hatchet now.”

• Coronation Street viewers left furious over 'messed up' storyline tonight
• I'm A Celebrity drama as Nick Ferrari pulls out after intervention

Other celebrity guests this year will include Lioness Jill Scott and former King of the Jungle Sam Thompson. Joel, who hosts the show with Capital Radio DJ Kemi Rodgers, says: “Our last Queen of the Jungle, Jill Scott came out last year and she’s just so lovely and so funny and also an incredible athlete. It’s a mad thing, you forget that alongside this she’s also an incredible football player. I’m excited to hear what she thinks about the new campmates.

It comes as Joel has flown out his whole family to the jungle as he gears up to host the I’m a Celebrity spin-off show. The star - who has four-year-old son Wilde with wife Hannah Cooper - follows in the footsteps of main show host Dec, who also usually moves his entire family over for the duration of the show.

Dec, has two children with wife Ali Astall: Isla, seven, and Jack, three. And Joel says: “This year I’m taking my family with me, so it’s going to be great getting home from work and being able to see them and Wilde learning how to swim and all of that stuff. I’m really excited for them to be there. Hopefully I can enjoy a bit of family time before I have to go to bed at 3pm in the afternoon.”

The 40-year-old says he will be glad to have his wife with him, not least as he says he struggles by himself. The star, who married Hannah in 2019, admits: “Every year halfway through the run, I realise I’ve run out of clothes and I have to go to the nearest town to buy lots of stuff. I never take enough, my wife despairs at my packing. At some point, you have to understand that you have to wash your pants and do a washing run every five days.”

Co-host Kemi says she is excited for the show to begin and hopes there is not a repeat of a jungle critter landing on her head like last year. “That's the brilliant thing about Unpacked. If something goes wrong, it's going wrong and everyone's going to see it. I remember my first ever show of the first series last year, the moment that Joel was introducing me, for the first time, a massive bug landed on me and I was screaming. And this was my introduction into the entire show and I had to apologise.”

The stars of the main show are flying out to Australia this weekend. They include Emmerdale's Lisa Riley, former model Kelly Brook, ex-EastEnders star Shona McGarty, YouTuber Morgan Burtwistle, better known as Angryginge, musician Martin Kemp, comedian Ruby Wax, TV presenter Alex Scott and Jack Osbourne. The 25th series, hosted again by Ant and Dec, is set to start a week on Sunday.

2025-11-08T16:13:32Z