I'm a Celebrity full line-up pictured for the first time as Wayne Rooney reveals he wants to be seen as a 'genuine person' after years of scandals and misdemeanours

He is preparing to follow in his wife Coleen's footsteps by swapping their £20million mansion for the I'm A Celebrity jungle.

And now Wayne Rooney has been seen in his jungle attire for the first time alongside this year's campmates, as he revealed he is hoping to rehabilitate his public image and prove how 'genuine' he is on the show.

Posing alongside Wayne in the 11-strong line-up are Joanna Page, Ade Adepitan, Sharky, Chloe Burrows, Ricky Wilson, AJ Odudu, Claire Sweeney, Jack Skipper, Mariella Frostrup and Leomie Anderson.

'This is probably the biggest exposure I've ever had, being on TV every night for three weeks. 

'I hope people see I am a genuine person,' said Wayne, adding that he is a 'fun guy' who enjoys 'pranks'.

During a successful footballing career that was marked by a number of personal scandals, Wayne, 41, is likely hoping that appearing on the ITV series will allow him to show a whole new side of himself.

When asked if Coleen, who attended her glitzy Primark launch while Rooney landed in Australia, was proud of him, he replied: 'She is obviously.'

He added: 'I think because she has done it, she knows what it is, so she knows how difficult it is as well. It will be nice for her to sit down and be invested in it.'

It is a show he has always wanted to do, he said, particularly after seeing wife Coleen's experience, where she came runner-up in 2024.

'Me and Coleen would sit there watching and we both always said: 'If we were going to do one, it's the show to do,' he said.

And while his younger sons Kit, 10, and Cass, eight, are 'very excited', his eldest sons Kai, 17, and Klay, 13, fear he will embarrass them on national television, he said.

'The younger two are very excited. I think my older two are worried that I will embarrass them,' he said.

'I tend to do that a lot when their friends come round (to our house) and I think they are more worried about me embarrassing them.'

Rooney, who said 'not being great as a manager' following his sacking from Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle led to him signing up to this year's show, admitted he was 'nervous'.

While he said he was happy to do any of the eating challenges, he said he was terrified of jumping out of a helicopter after three failed attempts to go skydiving in the past.

He said: '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.'

On Tuesday, Claire Sweeney, 55, and Joanna Page, 49, touched down at Brisbane airport ahead of next Monday's launch show.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Joanna said: ‘I’ve come a very very long way from Barry Island! I wish Nessa was with me now.

‘I had a really nice flight it made a change from looking after four children. It was nice to have a flight where I can just sit down, watch a film and eat some food.

‘Do you know what I was sitting on the plane and I was excited because Love Actually  was on the entertainment and also Taskmaster was so I got quite excited about that. And every airport I got to had a Christmas tree!

‘But I chose not to watch that (Love Actually). I don’t think I could sit down and watch that in front of everybody so I watched some other stuff instead.

Talking about what brought her to Australia, she said: ‘I just want to have a bit of me time before Christmas. A bit of time without the children maybe some spa treatments, maybe a mud facial, try to local cuisine and have a bit of a relax.’