The reason why I’m a Celeb stars have to wear red socks

We’re officially in the endgame: the 26th series of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! is finally debuting on ITV next week (16 November) with a brand-new cohort of celebrites, including a Love Island finalist, a Coronation Street icon, and a former Strictly Come Dancing contestant.

The beloved reality TV show is back in business, with presenters Ant and Dec returning to oversee bushtucker trials, camp squabbles, dingo dollar challenges, and eventually the dreaded cyclone in the Australian wilderness.

Among this year’s I’m a Celeb contestants are former Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney, who has his eyes on the prize after his wife, Coleen, came runner-up in 2024.

“If you're going in you want to win it. Coleen's already tried and obviously she finished second in the show so I'm here to bring that title back to the Rooney household."

Rooney, like Love Island’s Chloe Burrows and Kaiser Chiefs singer Ricky Wilson, will all enter the jungle wearing a standard camp uniform: a beige long-sleeve shirt, red pants or shorts, black boots, and red socks.

It turns out the latter, a staple since 2002, isn’t just for looks, according to a show insider.

Red socks are part of the I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! uniform to help the cameras.

In an interview with Women’s Own, former long-time camp medic Bob McCarron—who appeared on the ITVprogramme for 20 years—once revealed that the socks are actually to cover up blood.

The professional told the publication that, as the campmates are living among a myriad of blood-sucking critters in the jungle, they’ll probably get a couple of bites during their time in the jungle.

White socks were originally debated as a potential uniform choice, but producers wouldn’t want their contestants looking battered, bruised and bloody—would they? Good call, ITV.

Ahead of I’m A Celebrity 2026, some of the contestants have spilt the beans on their biggest fears and their hopeful roles in camp.

Rooney said he didn’t like the idea of jumping out of a helicopter.

“I’ve been booked to jump out of a plane three times before and never made it on the plane!

“I don’t like snakes or what is in the water either – I don’t go in the sea.”

Burrows, who made the Love Island final in 2021, said she hopes to take on the role of ‘moral booster’, rather than chef.

“I don’t want to kill anyone with my food! I am there to have a laugh. I hope people can lean on me and I want to be there if someone is feeling down,” she claimed.

Meanwhile, Leomie Anderson, a Victoria’s Secret model, has confessed that she hopes her fellow campmates don’t judge her by her looks.

“People have the assumption that because I’m a model, I’m not going to get stuck in.

“I want to show that people shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”

I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! returns to ITV on Monday 16 November at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.