After it was announced that Love Island star Maura Higgins was set to join this year’s lineup for I’m A Celeb, many fans were excited to see her enter the jungle as the 2024 series launched on Sunday.
However, in walked Coleen Rooney, McFly singer Danny Jones, Strictly Come Dancing legend Oti Mabuse, Loose Women star Jane Moore, Radio 1's Dean McCullough, N-Dubz legend Tulisa, boxing promoter Barry McGuigan, radio DJ Melvin Odoom, Coronation Street star Alan Halsall and internet sensation GK Barry - with no sign of Maura.
"Where the bloody hell is Maura?" one viewer tweeted.
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Another added: "I’m so excited watching this but I want to see Maura!"
It soon became apparent that we wouldn’t be seeing her just yet, as she’s actually due to join the camp as a late addition alongside Reverend Richard Coles.
She’s now spoken out about her upcoming appearance on the show, telling The Mirror how she’d jetted to Australia after a blow-out in Las Vegas.
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“I have no clue what time it is, I don't know where I am,” she joked.
“In fact, I've done the opposite of preparing myself [for the jungle]. I've tried not to think about it, because when I think about it, I get so much anxiety.”
She added: “I just don't want to let people down, because everyone's been DMing me, saying 'Oh my God, I hope you're doing the show'.
“I don't want to back out of the trials and be the biggest wimp in the camp.”
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Maura said her mum was shocked when she found out she’d signed up for the series, revealing she ‘nearly died’.
“She went: 'Maura, how are you going to do that?'” she continued.
“She is baffled as I'm more of an indoor girl… I like my hotels. I've never slept outside.”
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The star admitted trials could prove a bit of a challenge, too.
“If spiders go over the top of my head, I might just die,” she said.
“I'm not a nervous person at all. I don't get anxiety. But for this show, when I think about it, I'm like, 'Oh God'.”
As for what we can expect from her I’m A Celeb stint, she says she’s ‘matured’ a lot since her Love Island days, but still has a ‘potty mouth’.
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“I'm still the same kind of girl but I'm not going to go in and annihilate anyone,” Maura said.
“However, if someone gets on my nerves, I'm not really one to hold it in. I do speak my mind. If someone patronized me, I get really irritated. Like, that's one thing that really drives me mad.”
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Topics: Celebrity, Im A Celebrity, Maura Higgins, ITV, TV And Film, Love Island
Jess Hardiman