Wayne Rooney wants to outdo wife Coleen on I'm A Celebrity
Wayne Rooney wants to "do a little bit better" than wife Coleen on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! after she was runner-up on the show in 2024.
Wayne Rooney wants to "do a little bit better" than wife Coleen on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!.
The former footballer has set his sights on being named King of the Jungle and admitted one of his primary reasons for wanting to win is to outdo his wife, who was runner-up to McFly's Danny Jones in 2024.
He told the Daily Mail online: "I was really proud of Coleen and her time in the jungle.
"There’s no competition between us, but I would like to do a little bit better than her. So let’s see!"
Wayne thinks one of the biggest challenges of the show will be being away from Coleen and their four sons, Kai, 17, Klay, 13, Kit, ten, and eight-year-old Cass, even though he previously managed DC United in Washington while his family stayed in the UK.
He said: "I’ll miss them. I’ve lived away from them before but having no contact like this week is strange. That will be tough. I have to get through that and it is not too long in terms of your life span. But emotionally you don’t know how that will affect you in there."
And the sporting legend is ready to tackle any trials that come his way, even though he is afraid of heights and doesn't know how he'll fare amid the jungle critters.
Asked if Coleen will get revenge after he previously encouraged fans to vote for her to do the trials during her stint, he laughed: "I’m sure she will. But I want to do trials. I’m scared of a lot of things. That is a big part of the experience but I’m not sure how I’ll cope."
Wayne hopes he comes across well on the programme, though he knows he can't control people's perceptions.
He said: "When you do something you want to win. So it’d be great and obviously different to anything else I’ve done. If you win it, it means you’ve come across relatable and people who are watching have liked watching you when you’re in there.
"You don’t know how you’re going to be portrayed or how people are going to think about you. I suppose when you’re in there for that amount of time, cameras on you 24/7 - that persona of yourself will show. It is an opportunity for people to see me in that light."
The former England player revealed he and his teammates always used to discuss the possibility of going on the show.
He said: "Even when we were in football, it’s one we spoke about saying, 'Would you go in and how do you feel you’ll do?’'
"I’m just pleased I’m in a position where I’m going in to experience it."
