I'm A Celebrity launches with huge boost as Coleen Rooney gamble pays off

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! returned on a high with 8million viewers tuning in on Sunday night.

The 2024 launch, hosted by and , has become the biggest overnight audience of the year outside of sport.

Bosses will be thrilled after splashing the cash on some big celebs on the 2024 line-up including a rumoured £1.5million for .

While the brand new I’m A Celebrity Unpacked show - hosted by and Joel Dommett - launched on ITV2 with a peak of 617k viewers, the biggest ITV2 launch outside of and .

An average audience of 6.6 million watched last year's finale of ... Get Me Out of Here! where ex Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson was crowned king of the jungle.

Coleen became one of the highest stars to ever appear on the ITV reality show - beating the salary picked up last year.

But despite the huge pay cheque, Coleen said she wasn't looking to go over her Wagatha Christie case on air and would rather show viewers the 'real her.'

Speaking to the before she headed into camp, Coleen insisted she wants to put the whole saga behind her.

She said: "That’s a place that I’ve been, I’ve dealt with it. In my life now, I’m just moving forward and not looking back. That’s something I’ve done my whole life, dealt with things, moved forward at the time and got on. There are more important things to think about with the family and kids ...

"I think I’d rather just be known as Coleen from Liverpool. Not from any other type of place. It’s just me, as I always have been. So hopefully people just think she’s that Scouser that she’s always been."

Liverpool-born Rooney, 38, follows Vardy, 42, who competed in the 17th series of the reality TV show in 2017, into the Australian jungle.

And despite Coleen's best intentions, Ant and Dec wasted no time in bringing up the Wag war minutes into the show on Sunday night.

At the beginning of the episode, Donnelly said: “It will be nice for Coleen to face a trial that doesn’t involve .”

Rooney was dubbed Wagatha Christie when she accused Norwich-born Vardy, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, of leaking her private information to The Sun in a viral post on social media.

Despite being the big draw, it was not Coleen but podcaster GK Barry who struck a chord with viewers and was voted to take part in the first trial of the series.

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! continues on ITV1 and ITVX.