Coleen Rooney has made history by becoming the highest paid star to take part on I’m A Celeb of all time – but she is following in the footsteps of her arch rival, Rebekah Vardy.

Becky already entered the jungle back in 2017 where she faced brutal trials, missed out on some challenges due to medical issues, and dished the dirt on what the show is really like once she got back to the UK. On Saturday, it was revealed that Coleen will be taking part in the long-running ITV show this year.

Coleen and Becky have a vicious rivalry due to the explosive Wagatha Christie case which saw the former accuse the latter of leaking stories about her to the press. This resulted in a multimillion pound libel court case. But this will be nothing compared to the horrors Coleen will face on I’m A Celeb where she will be sleeping in the jungles of Australia with creepy crawlies and other stars. Here is what Becky experienced when she took part in the show seven years ago.

Becky was a contestant on I’m A Celeb alongside the likes of Stanley Johnson and Georgia Toffolo ( 
Image:
ITV)

Her fellow campmates

Rebekah was one of 12 celebrities that took part in the 2017 season of I’m A Celeb. She was joined by Scottish politician Kezia Dugdale, comedian Shappi Khorsandi, singer Vanessa White, and Stanley Johnson – the father of ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Footballer Dennis Wise, boxer Amir Khan, Coronation Street star Jennie McAlpine, presenter Iain Lee, and Hollyoaks actor Jamie Lomas were also in the camp.

YouTube personality Jack Maynard was also in the line-up, but he was removed from the show after three days as offensive historic social media posts resurfaced. The series was won by Made In Chelsea star Georgia ‘Toff’ Toffolo, while Becky was the fourth star to be eliminated from the competition.

Her trials

Rebekah was the third campmate to be evicted ( 
Image:
ITV)
During her time on the show, Becky was set to face multiple trials including Worst Dates, The Hole and Grot Holding. She was also due to face the Fear Factory challenge but was forced to sit it out on medical grounds.

She had also been granted a reprieve for challenges called Flushed Out and The Temple of Gloom again on medical grounds. Medical reasons also meant she missed out on the Kiosk Keith’s Outbreak Refreshment Shack challenge.

Despite being just the fourth star to be booted from camp, Becky survived 16 days in the jungle before her exit. On being told she was out, she packed her bag and said: “Yes! That’s fine. Guys if anyone wants my pillow feel free. I am buzzing.”

Her deal

When she signed up to take part in the 17th season of the long-running ITV show, Rebekah was one of the highest paid stars to feature. Reports claimed she landed a huge £100,000 to fly Down Under to take part.

However, she is far from the highest paid star to take part – as football legend Harry Redknapp was reportedly paid £500,000 to star in 2018, Noel Edmonds was paid a reported £600,000 the same year – and politician Nigel Farage was reportedly rewarded with £1.5 million to star on the show in 2023. But WAG rival Coleen Rooney is said to be the highest paid star of all time.

While an exact figure has not yet been revealed, The Sun have reported Coleen will earn more than Farage to appear on the show. A source told the outlet: “I’m A Celeb bosses have pulled off a huge coup.”

All for show?

After featuring on the show, Rebekah returned to the UK to tell TV fans that almost everything they see on the show is fake. She claimed to Closer: “If you’re stood where the phone box is and look straight out, it’s all fake.

“I lost count of how many cameras there are. Above your head, the cameras are on zipwires, so they follow you everywhere! It is crazy, it’s like Big Brother – you’re watched and listened to 24 hours a day.”

However, she did confirm the conditions in terms of what people are allowed to eat are real and the stars don’t get extra food. She said: “You literally have to be on your last legs to get anything. That was the bit that I was really quite stupidly naïve about.”