Is the 2024 I’m a Celebrity Winner an Easy Form Choice?

by Roy Brindley, 13 November 2024

The 2024 series of “I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!” is set to return to ITV screens with a new cast of celebrities ready to take on the famous jungle challenges in the Australian outback. The fun will begin on Sunday, November 17.

If the brave contestants in the 24th series of “I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!” were edible, they would be described as a mixed bag of Liquorice Allsorts! Three contenders are in their 60s; one is a priest, there is a wag, and another is a 26-year Coronation Street veteran.

The UK’s top online bookmakers have already set betting markets on who will become the next King or Queen of the Jungle. They are unanimous in making Danny Jones the early betting favourite. The McFly singer’s odds currently hover around 5/2.

Favourites Poor Form in Aussie Jungle

History suggests an average of eight million people will watch each episode of “I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!” The show will run for three weeks, with the public voting to eliminate contestants nightly from the end of the second week. Bookmakers will offer odds on the ‘next eliminated contestant’ every day.

“I’m A Celebrity…” has been a favourite’s graveyard in recent years. Twelve months ago, the early betting favourite, Jose Gibson, finished only fourth. In 2022, Mike the ante-post favourite, Mike Tindall, also finished fourth. Will 2024 buck the trend? Here are the 12 contestants expected to enter the famous Australian camp.

Coleen Rooney

The 38-year-old Rooney is best known for her involvement in the “Wagatha Christie” saga. She is reportedly entering the jungle with what has been described as one of the biggest paycheques in the show’s history.

Danny Jones

Lead vocalist and guitarist for pop-rock band McFly, 38-year-old Danny Jones, hopes to follow in the footsteps of his bandmate Dougie Poynter, who won “I’m A Celebrity…” in 2011.

Oti Mabuse

Mabuse, a former Strictly Come Dancing professional and now a Dancing on Ice judge, is a 34-year-old mother of one from South Africa.

Tulisa

Part of the hip-hop trio N-Dubz, Tulisa was just 23 when she became an X-Factor judge in 2011. Now 36, her career has dipped and troughed for the past 12 years.

GK Barry

At 25, the youngest 2024 “I’m A Celebrity…” contestant is GK Barry (Grace Keeling), a social media influencer and presenter who has made a series of appearances as a guest panellist on Loose Women.

Jane Moore

Loose Women has a second horse in the race with 62-year-old Jane Moore – a regular host and anchor on the daytime show since 1999.

Dean McCullough

The first of two contestants from Northern Ireland is Radio 1 presenter Dean McCullough.

Barry McGuigan

Aged 63, Barry McGuigan, a former champion boxer who won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 1985, is also from Northern Ireland but 31 years older than McCullough.

Melvin Odoom

A regular guest celebrity on many television shows to the point that it has become his career, 44-year-old Odoom rose to fame for his role in the children’s show Dick & Dom in da Bungalow between 2002-2006.

Alan Halsall

Better known as Coronation Street’s Tyrone Dobbs, Halsall is now 41 and will make his first appearance in a show of this type.

Rev. Richard Coles

Coles has jammed a lot into his 62 years. He first came to prominence as the multi-instrumentalist who partnered with Jimmy Somerville in the 1980s band the Communards.

Maura Higgins

One of the first big stars to hail from Love Island (in 2019), Higgins is now 33 and the only contestant representing the Irish Republic.

Who Is the Best Bet for 2024’s “I’m a Celebrity…”?

The list of previous “I’m a Celebrity…” winners strongly suggests that contestants from London are more popular with the show’s telephone voters. Similarly, contenders aged 50-plus appear to be disadvantaged. The last four winners have all been in their early-mid 30s, and the average winning age during the past decade is 35.

Made In Chelsea is officially described as a ‘reality series’. It puts that show in the same bracket as Geordie Shore, Gogglebox and Love Island – a genre of TV that provided four of the past nine “I’m a Celebrity…” winners with an introduction to fame.

There are no footballers in this year’s “I’m a Celebrity…” line-up, which has been a rich source of winners in recent years. Therein, with Tulisa being the only Londoner that fits our age frame, she rises to the top of our ‘potential winner’ list alongside Maura Higgins for her age and reality TV credentials.

What Are the I’m a Celebrity 2024 Odds?

Every major sports betting site offers odds on the outcome of “I’m a Celebrity…”. The best prices on 2024’s contestants are 5/2 Danny Jones, 11/2 Maura Higgins, 6/1 GK Barry, 6/1 Alan Halsall, 12/1 Coleen Rooney, 12/1 Oti Mabuse, 14/1 Dean McCullough, 16/1 Melvin Odoom, 16/1 Tulisa, 20/1 Richard Coles, 25/1 Barry McGuigan, 66/1 Jane Moore.

In the UK fans can watch “I’m a Celebrity…” live on ITV1 or stream the show on ITVX. Irish viewers can watch all episodes on Virgin Media One, Virgin TV 103.