Mike Tindall and his royal wife Zara Tindall arrive back at their hotel

Mike Tindall and his wife Zara received a warm welcome as they arrived back at their hotel after he became the eighth star eliminated from I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! during Saturday’s episode.

The former rugby pro, 44, and the royal, 41, appeared in great spirits as they jumped out of a car and reunited with Mike’s former campmates and their partners, who were stood waiting outside the hotel.

The couple stood together with their arms wrapped around each other as they posed for pictures following Mike’s eviction, which left Matt Hancock, Jill Scott and Owen Warner as the final three campmates. 

Mike, who left the competition in fourth place, was still wearing his jungle attire as he sported a red fleece and shorts as well as a pair of black boots and a hat.

Zara was dressed in a denim playsuit, teamed with a pair of stylish sunglasses and Veja trainers, with a small white Aspinal of London bag strapped across her body.

The daughter of Princess Anne was showcasing a golden glow following her time in Australia, as she opted for minimal make-up and wore her blonde hair tied back. 

Mike was seen embracing Scarlette Douglas, who was dressed in a bright pink jumpsuit, as they welcomed him back to normality following his jungle stint.

Meanwhile, Zara greeted Jill’s fiance Shelly Unit with a hug as the group chatted outside their accomodation.

Mike was the final star to be eliminated ahead of the much-anticipated grand finale on Sunday. 

They will each take on a gruesome challenge to win an epic final meal together in camp, consisting of a three-course banquet with a starter, main, and dessert.

But it won’t be an easy feat as Jill, Matt and Owen will either take on Flood Your Face, where the unlucky celebrity will have their head in a clear container filled with water and critters, Bushtucker Bonanza, a second instalment of the show’s iconic eating trial, or Rat Race, which will see thousands of bugs in a box.

Mike was greeted by his wife Zara, the niece of King Charles – the first royal to visit the jungle to greet a departing star – as he left the camp in Australia’s Queensland.

Zara had been missing from the ranks of friends and family who arrived in the Gold Coast two weeks ago, but the late Queen’s granddaughter had made the 9000-mile trip to support Mike before he missed out on securing a place in the final. 

Mike was the latest star to be booted out of the Australian jungle, after the four celebrities took on the iconic Celebrity Cyclone trial.

His departure meant Tory MP Matt, 44, defied the odds by making it to the show’s final three alongside Hollyoaks actor Owen, 23, and Lionness, Jill, 35.

In Sunday’s ultimate episode of the 2022 series the remaining campmates will battle it out to win the title of jungle king or queen.

The three celebrities will take on their final Bushtucker trials – and for the first time in the show’s history be forced to compete for stars in front of their fellow campmates, which ITV producers hope will add increased tension among the finalists.

After his exit was announced, Mike said he was ready to leave the jungle, after hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly told the remaining cast members they were all at risk in the public vote, rather than revealing the bottom two. 

He told Ant and Dec: ‘I’m good. It’s been a long time. I can feel my body was getting ready… I’m pretty comfortable with it.’

Upon his exit, the presenters quizzed Mike on his penchant for tiny swimwear, asking if it was his royal wife Zara Tindall’s idea for him to wear the trunks in the camp creek and the shower.

He laughed: ‘They were always my idea! You wear trunks in the shower, it’s always a but of fun. Get my pineapples out!’ 

Before heading to the bridge to meet Mike, Zara was spotted shopping in Australia’s stylish Byron Bay this week as she waited for Mike to be evicted from the show. 

Speaking to Ant and Dec about his time in the camp and his run of seven nights in the luxury campervan, Mike said: ‘It’s weird because you don’t want to go in there. 

‘You get acclimatised to where you are. I was on the bottom bunk under Owen, so it was dry. Then you go in the RV and it was weird.’

He continued: ‘Before I went in, I imagined the worst case scenario and mine is pretty bad. I was always like, ‘You know that’s going to happen so let’s not it affect you.’

‘Owen, on the other hand, wears it on all his sleeves. You know he’s hungry!

‘I think with this camp, we won a lot of full stars. If Owen had been in a camp where he only had two stars every day.

‘The only time I almost had a little wobble was when we had the nighttime challenge. But then Seann [Walsh] had a wobble, and I could just go back to focus on [helping] Seann.’

Mike said his positive attitude helped him overcome difficult moments in the camp: ‘It’s been a lot of laughs. That’s the best thing. You can get through anything when the humour is good.’

When quizzed on who he wanted to win the show, Mike told Ant and Dec: ‘Jill!’ 

It comes after Seann Walsh was the seventh star to be eliminated from the Australian jungle on Friday evening.

Before Mike’s exit, he accused fellow campmate Matt Hancock of attempting to sway the public vote by placing his name-printed clothing in shot of the camp cameras.

The rugby pro also quipped that Matt, 44, ‘clearly wants to win’, while claiming that the Tory MP was ‘polling for votes’ in a bid to be crowned King Of The Jungle.

Each campmate has their name and voting lines printed on the back of their jackets and T-shirts, with Mike claiming Matt was making these more visible to the cameras.

Talking in the Bush Telegraph, he said: ‘Matt’s making sure his t-shirt and his phone numbers are on display at all times. Matt clearly wants to win.’

Mike was seen turning the MP’s belongings over other way around, adding to the camera: ‘I’m taking great pleasure in turning it around every time he leaves camp.’

‘Once a politician, always a politician. Always polling for votes,’ added the sportsman.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Matt, Jill, Owen and Mike managed to bag four out of four stars while taking on the iconic Cyclone trial in Australia, with Lioness Jill dubbing the challenge ‘the most fun I’ve ever had’.

The celebrities then returned to camp to enjoy a treat of ice cream and got a glimpse back into the real world as they learned England’s scores so far during the Qatar World Cup.

As they received a letter to camp, an excited Mike revealed to his fellow stars: ‘Celebrities, today you will all be taking part in today’s Trial – Celebrity Cyclone.’ 

‘I never thought I’d make it to the Cyclone. It’s going to be absolutely brilliant, I can’t wait,’ said Matt.

Echoing his thoughts, Owen added: ‘I’m just absolutely buzzing, can’t believe I’m here, can’t believe I’m doing this. I’m speechless. I’m just literally speechless.’

And the celebrities were certainly dressed for the occasion, clad in tight metallic hot pants and matching capes.

‘I’ve got the cape, I’m in the tight spandex and I’m loving life,’ said Owen of his ensemble, as Mike sang: ‘Because I’ve got my tight pants… I’ve got my tight pants on!’ in the Bush Telegraph, echoing a tune they had earlier sang in camp.

The quartet then came up with superhero names for themselves, with Mike going for Quicksilver, Owen dubbing himself Goldic*cks, Matt as Bronze Bronco and Jill going for Purple Reign.

After getting pumped up for the trial, they made their way down to the grounds to be greeted by Ant and Dec, as the latter said: ‘Goodness gracious me, you all look marvellous.’

The reality show returned to the Australian jungle for the first time in three years after it was held in Gwrych Castle in North Wales due to travel restrictions caused by the pandemic.

Last year, the challenge was taken on in Wales by Danny Miller, Frankie Bridge, David Ginola and Simon Gregson who came away with all four meals. 

And chatting before it began, Owen admitted: ‘This has been on my bucket list since a little kid. I never thought I’d be on the show let alone being in here looking at the cyclone in the face.’

Ant said: ‘Well, it’s been on a little holiday to Wales for the last two years, but it’s back on home turf, it is of course Celebrity Cyclone.’

Dec explained: ‘Your job is to get the four stars onto the four star markers and keep them there until the end of the Trial. To begin, the first celebrity will step off the twister, through the trench with all four stars and make their way to the first star marker.’

Ant said: ‘Once they’re there with their stars, the second celebrity jumps off the twister, through the trench, gets to the first star marker, takes three stars and then moves on to the second star marker. 

‘And so on and so on. You know how it works. All of the stars have to be on the star markers at the end of time to count. You’ve got 10 minutes to do the Trial.’

Dec smiled: ‘You can stop the Trial at any time by saying ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ I’ll be honest with you, we won’t hear you. So, you’ll just have to suck it up and carry on.’

Taking on the trial, the order was Jill, Matt, Mike and then Owen – as they all opted for different tactics for the trial, with Matt taking a massive dive into the course while Owen attempted to walk through the assualt course, unsuccessfully.

But it was a happy ending for the stars at the end of the trial as they bagged a star each and meals for camp in the evening.

‘It was like the funnest thing I’ve ever done – I loved it,’ Jill said afterwards, while Matt added: ‘It was even more fun than it looks’.

And there was a treat waiting for them at camp, as Matt read a message: ‘Celebrities, while you were away at Cyclone, four choc ices were hidden around camp. All you have to do is find them before they melt.’

They split into sections and found all four. One was in the bath, one in the RV, one by the creek and one in the Bush Telegraph.

As he ate his, Owen realised the England football score was burnt into the stick, exclaiming: ‘No way, it’s got the score on! 6-2 England v Iran. Jill had the Wales score and Mike saw the USA game was 0-0.’

While an ecstatic Jill said: ‘As if that wasn’t a big enough surprise, the football scores were written on the lolly stick!’

‘It’s Coming Home!’ sang Owen.

Jill Scott is the favourite to win the current series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here, however some are predicting Matt Hancock could take home the crown.

The ex Lioness, 35, leads the way at 2/5 to be crowned Queen of the Jungle, while Owen Warner is placed at 5/1 and Matt Hancock sits at 6/1.

According to OLBG bookmakers, Mike Tindall has a chance of 8/1. And Matt remains in the show despite previous predictions he would be first to leave the jungle.

The former health secretary, 44, sparked controversy when he was confirmed to be heading into the Australian jungle earlier this month.

He asked for ‘a bit of forgiveness’ following a grilling by fellow campmates about his controversies during the Covid-19 pandemic .

MP Matt quit his cabinet role after controversially breaking his own lockdown rules by having an affair with aide Gina Coladangelo last year. 

The I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! final airs on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday 27 November at 9.00pm.