SOAP star Lisa Riley is the first star being teed up for this year’s series of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!
As Mandy Dingle, the Emmerdale actress has been in some of the ITV show’s biggest storylines since she first joined the cast 30 years ago.
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But Lisa, 49, has never hidden her desire to go into the jungle either, and is now in advanced negotiations with producers with a view to heading Down Under this autumn.
A TV insider said: “Lisa is the perfect celebrity for the show because not only is she from a soap watched by millions she’s one of its biggest characters and it’s an ITV show to boot.
“She also has a naughty, mischievous sense of humour which is guaranteed to get a big response from her other celebrity campmates during their time in the jungle.
“Lisa is by no means the first star from Emmerdale to have gone on I’m a Celebrity and those that do always tend to get a great response from viewers at home.”
Read more on I’m a Celebrity
So far eight actors from the soap have gone into the jungle ranging from Gemma Atkinson and Chris Bisson to Lucy Pargeter and Adam Thomas.
When Danny Miller went on in 2021, he actually won the competition.
Talking earlier this year Lisa, who turns 50 next year, said: ‘I’m A Celebrity…is something I would do before I turned 50 as a test for myself.”
Previously discussing some of the bushtucker challenges she has said she could “eat anything” but added: “I could never ever do the mice and the rat box.”
Lisa first joined Emmerdale in 1995 and played Mandy for six years before taking a break.
She starred in a number of shows including the BBC’s Fat Friends and Waterloo Road.
Lisa went on to compete in Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 and joined Loose Women as a panellist.
She returned to Emmerdale full time from 2019 and said: “I’m the type of person that must have an answer, I can’t leave anything open ended.
“I was working for Strictly in doing a Q and A and there were 4,000 people asking me when I was going back to Emmerdale.
“But I’ve had that since the day I left.
I’m A Celebrity – All The Winners
Here’s every star who has been crowned King or Queen of the Jungle to date:
- 2024: Danny Jones, McFly star
- 2023: Sam Thompson, Made in Chelsea star
- 2022: Jill Scott, England footballer
- 2021: Danny Miller, Emmerdale star
- 2020: Giovanna Fletcher, actress and podcaster
- 2019: Jacqueline Jossa, EastEnders star
- 2018: Harry Redknapp, England legend
- 2017: Georgia Toffolo, Made In Chelsea star
- 2016: Scarlett Moffatt, Gogglebox star
- 2015: Vicky Pattison, Geordie Shore star
- 2014: Carl Fogarty, famed racer
- 2013: Kian Egan, Westlife star
- 2012: Charlie Brooks, EastEnders actor
- 2011: Dougie Poynter, McFly star
- 2010: Stacey Solomon, X Factor star now TV personality
- 2009: Gino D’ACampo, TV Chef
- 2008: Joe Swash, TV personality
- 2007: Christopher Biggins, actor
- 2006: Matt Willis, Busted star
- 2005: Carol Thatcher, author and broadcaster
- 2004 (second series): Joe Pasquale, comedian
- 2004: Kerry Katona, Atomic Kitten star and reality star
- 2003: Phil Tufnell, England Cricketer
- 2002: Tony Blackburn, Radio DJ
There was also an All Star series in South Africa in 2023, which was won by Myleene Klass.
“It was really weird for some reason these people asked ‘Why won’t you go back to Emmerdale?’ and I had no answer so I thought, ‘Well why not?’”
The 25th series of I’m A Celebrity is expected to air this November.
A spokesman for ITV said: “We do not comment on speculation about I’m A Celebrity contestants.”
I’m A Celebrity airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
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