What happens to I’m A Celeb stars before they head into the jungle as Wayne Rooney lands in Australia
We’re just one week away from the launch of I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! 2026 - and the fresh batch of campmates are beginning to arrive Down Under.
On Monday (9 November), English footballer Wayne Rooney touched down at Brisbane Airport after a long 21-hour flight, following in the footsteps of his wife, Coleen, who was a contestant last year.
According to The Sun, he’s the first star of this year’s lineup to arrive, but is due to be joined by the likes of Joanna Page, Chloe Burrows, and Ricky Wilson, to name a few.
With Rooney already in Australia, a week before the reality TV show begins, it’s led fans to question what actually goes on in the seven days before the cameras start rolling.
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The Sun reports that the celebrities are put up in a ‘top secret luxury hotel’ and have zero contact with the outside world.
In 2022, the outlet spoke with former campmate Jake Quickenden, who competed on the show in 2014, and has spilled the beans about the run-up.
“They want to keep you under wraps, and they don’t want the press knowing who you are or getting a photo of you. So it’s all very like stealth mode,” he explained, adding that the hotel can be changed around and kept under wraps until the very last minute.
He revealed that the contestants are usually put in a five-star hotel with spas and saunas, their own suites, and are treated like royalty.
He joked: “I felt like Justin Bieber. It was great. I could have just lived in the suites for the whole time. You didn’t even need to leave.”
However, the downside is that, reportedly, the campmates are completely isolated from the outside world, with their phones confiscated and no internet access.
Another star told the publication: “You don’t really have your phone on you because they don’t want you to check who’s going in with you. You can’t really even look at the internet or write on your Instagram or anything like that.”
According to AJ Pritchard, who was on the show in 2022, while they were allowed to watch movies, the TVs in the hotel suites were all unplugged, leaving them even more cut off from the outside world.
He also confirmed that while he wasn’t locked away in his room, he wasn’t allowed to wander outside the hotel without a chaperone.
“My final meal was a good steak with chips and loads of vegetables. And then I ate loads of cereal bars before going into the castle; I was stocking up,” he explained.
As reported by The Express, the cats used to stay at the Palazzo Versace until 2022 and then at the JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa.
However, as to be expected, this year’s location is being kept very under wraps!
Hosted by the Geordie duo, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, the TV series will return to screens on Monday 16 November for its 26th season.
The full I’m A Celeb 2026 line-up
- Wayne Rooney
- Leigh Francis
- Joanna Page
- Leomie Anderson
- AJ Odudu
- Chloe Burrows
- Sharky
- Ricky Wilson
- Mariella Frostrup
- Claire Sweeney
- Ade Adepitan
- Jack Skipper
Topics: ITV, Reality TV, Celebrity, Entertainment, Im A Celebrity
Madison Burgess
