ITV has confirmed a raft of famous faces who’ll be joining the I’m A Celebrity 2022 line-up, as the hit series heads back to Australia.
Among the celebrities heading into the jungle this year are Boy George, Chris Moyles, Lioness legend Jill Scott and Corrie star Sue Cleaver.
Rumours have also been swirling today that former Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been suspended as a Tory MP for agreeing to appear on the show.
After two years in a Welsh castle, this year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! contestants will be heading back Down Under.
ITV has confirmed that the campmates will spend their first night of the series on an island, where they’ll face their first trial.
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Jill Scott MBE is joining I’m A Celeb 2022 line-up. Credit: ITVBoy George will head into the I’m A Celeb jungle. Credit: ITVSue Cleaver will also be on I’m A Celebrity 2022. Credit: ITV
Ant and Dec will be back as hosts as the celebs battle it out to be crowned king or queen of the jungle.
Former Manchester City midfielder Jill Scott MBE is one of the celebrities announced on the line-up this week.
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Jill said her biggest fears are rats and being underground, and is gutted that she’ll miss the men’s World Cup while she’s isolated in the outback.
She said: “I think my England teammates will be shocked when they find out. But I think they will say if there is a show for Jill to go on, because of the team side, then this is the one to do.
“People know me for my football and they see stupid videos of us, so this will be nice for people to get to know a bit more about my personality.”
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Corrie queen Sue Cleaver is another local face who’s joining the I’m A Celebrity line-up, known to millions as Eileen Grimshaw after 22 years on the cobbles.
Sue said: “I am a very private person and I am putting myself out there, which is what I am most nervous about.
Ant and Dec I’m a Celeb. Credit: ITV
“I do keep my life private and I am very happy with my home life. Viewers are going to see a different person to the person they think I am!
“I am very different. That can be worrying. They might decide they don’t like me as much as Eileen!”
Boy George, arguably the most famous face heading into the I’m A Celebrity jungle this year, said: “I am bored of being iconic in the corner and if you want to compete in the world then being part of telly is part of that” – which is a pretty iconic statement.
He added: “This is the biggest show on TV and that is why I am doing it. And now I have made the decision, I don’t want to focus too much on what the experience might be like, but my intention is it is going to be amazing.
“It’s three weeks without make-up and three weeks is nothing. I have just done seven weeks on tour.”
Other I’m A Celebrity 2022 contestants will be Manchester-based TV personality and former Love Island star Olivia Attwood, Hollyoaks actor Owen Warner, ex-England rugby player Mike Tindall MBE, and comedian Babatúndé Aléshé.
Completing this year’s line-up are presenter and property expert Scarlette Douglas, presenter and journalist Charlene White, and radio legend Chris Moyles.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here 2022 will return to ITV on Sunday 6 November at 9pm.
Benson Boone has announced a headline gig in Manchester – and it’s a big one
Danny Jones
American pop sensation and unrivalled king of unnecessary front flips, Benson Boone, has just announced his first-ever headline Manchester arena gig as part of a new arena tour.
The solo artist and acrobatic chart-topper has seen a meteoric rise in the US and, as is usually the case across the Atlantic, he’s become increasingly popular over here too.
Benson may have performed here in Manchester before as part of the 2024 MTV EMAs and for a small show at The Deaf Institute, but now big fans have the added Boone of getting to watch a standalone show at one of Europe’s leading indoor entertainment venues.
Announced on Friday, 30 May, the 22-year-old will be making his way across the pond from Washington for a limited run of UK concerts, with a date at Co-op Live arena being one of just five dates.
Extending his ‘American Heart Tour’ ahead of the release of his eponymous sophomore record, with this autumn leg, Co-op Live will mark his individual visit to 0161.
The Grammy-nominated artist has earned several nods of recognition already for his first album, Fireworks & Rollerblades, which was released just last spring.
He has been described as among the current trend of male singers who fit into the American Idol and ‘Voice audition pop’ genre (a term recently coined online), along with the likes of Teddy Swims, Shawn Mendes, Alex Warren and others.
Regardless of the slightly tongue-in-cheek term, he’s become a huge hit around the world and landing him is still a big coup for the venue that has already welcomed similarly massive pop contemporaries like Swims, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and more.
In case you’re wondering just how big a deal he is over in the States, even this early in his career, his domestic headline dates sold out in seconds, quite literally…
The last time he visited Co-op Live was to perform at the most recent MTV EMAs
Benson Boone is coming to Manchester on Monday, 27 October and will be playing just two other British venues: The O2 in London (two nights) and the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
Safe to say you don’t want to miss this one if you like soaring vocals and lots of flipping.
General admission tickets go live at 10am on Thursday, 5 June, but Co-op Members can gain access via the arena’s official pre-sale window from the same time on Tuesday (3 Jun).
More adult virgins needed for next series of Channel 4’s hit reality show Virgin Island
Emily Sergeant
Channel 4 is back looking for more adult virgins to take part in the potential next series of its hit reality show Virgin Island.
You may remember that early last year, we brought you the breaking highly-important news that Channel 4 was currently in the process of producing a new reality TV series that, at the time, had the working title of ‘The Intimacy Retreat’ and was looking for a group of adult virgins to apply to take part, if they were brave enough.
But now, well over a year on, we all know that show turned out to be the hit show Virgin Island – which has just finished airing its first series this week.
Channel 4 needs more adult virgins for the potential next series of its hit reality TV show Virgin Island / Credit: Channel 4
If you’re unfamiliar with Virgin Island, it’s unlike anything ever seen on TV before, as it follows the journey of a group of adult virgins who are whisked off to a Mediterranean island retreat to learn life-changing skills in the art of intimacy.
Working with leading international therapists, the aim is to help the young people overcome their fears and insecurities when it comes to intimacy and sex.
Channel 4 said it chose to commission the show after a recent study into intimacy found out that one in eight British 26-year-olds is, apparently, still a virgin.
Virgin Island aims to help young people overcome their insecurities around intimacy and sex / Credit: Channel 4
A casting call for the new series on the Channel 4 website reads: “Are you a virgin and do you need help and guidance with your fears and insecurities around intimacy and sex? Double Act Productions is casting adults for a potential second series of Virgin Island.”
You just need to be over 21 years of age to take part in the show.
Fancy it then? Or know someone who may be up for the ride? Applications for the potential next series of Virgin Island are now open, and there’s still plenty of time left to put your name down.
Daisy Jackson -
1st November 2022 
