I’m A Celeb winner Jill Scott says she can’t wait to marry fiancée Shelly Unitt

Queen of the Jungle Jill Scott says she can’t wait to marry her fiancée and admits being apart from her longterm love in the I’m A Celeb camp was ‘difficult.’

The former Lioness, 35, admitted the toughest challenge was going a month without any contact from her girlfriend Shelly Unitt and says without her unwavering support, surviving the Australian camp wouldn’t have been possible.

After England’s Euro 2022 triumph and reigning victorious on I’m A Celeb, Jill says her ‘next plan is to get wed’ and following the couple’s 2020 engagement it’s about time they ‘get some planning in place.’

In her first interview since winning the jungle title, Jill said: ‘We got engaged two years ago and Covid hit us, so I think we do need to get some planning in place. It will be nice.

‘We need to sit down and just catch up on the last five weeks and what’s happened but obviously getting engaged, the next plan is to get wed.

‘I have always appreciated our relationship 100 per cent – being able to go off and do football and be away two weeks out of every month it’s so hard for the person that you’re with and the sacrifices they have to do and knowing I had Shelly’s support going into this from day one, if I hadn’t I wouldn’t have been able to do it so we’re a good team.

‘I am excited to see what happens in the future, but I don’t think there will be a wedding in the jungle!’  

After travelling the world for 16 years with the England Women’s football team Jill thought she would be well prepared for missing Shelly and her loved ones while competing for survival in the I’m A Celeb camp.

But the sports star, who beat Owen Warner and Matt Hancock in the final, underestimated how tough it would be without the use of technology to connect them and says she sought comfort in knowing when Shelly had landed in Australia to support her.

She said: ‘It was really difficult. Me and Shelly spoke about that, usually being away at a tournament you’re away for two and a half months sometimes but you can FaceTime, you can text, as long as I know Shelly is okay, your family is okay, friends are okay but not knowing that was really difficult.

‘You had to keep your mind on what you were doing and I took comfort in – certain dates were happening so I knew when Shelly was flying out and I knew she was with the other families so it was difficult, of course it was, being away from loved ones but coming out and seeing how proud everyone is makes it all worthwhile.’  

Jill retired from football in August at the age of 35 after the last of her 170 international appearances came in the Euro 2022 final.

She was immediately snapped up by ITV bosses to star in I’m A Celeb, which returned to its native Australia for the first time in two years.  

After living life in the moment and following her mantra ‘Step by step, day by day, mile by mile’, which she has tattooed on her wrist, Jill admits she doesn’t necessarily have a career plan now.

But she does aspire to present the Women’s World Cup coverage in Australia next year, giving her the perfect opportunity to return Down Under.  

On asked whether she sees herself as ITV’s new poster girl, Jill said: ‘I haven’t really thought about it. I am so in the moment.

‘Going into the jungle I thought ‘should I have asked for more questions’, in my head I was like… November, I’m going in the jungle and then I was like, ‘do I have a plan for December?’ No.

‘I feel like a lot of people retire, say Alex Scott for example, she had this media plan of what she was going to do but I’m just not like that.

‘I’m like just be the best version of yourself every day and I always think tomorrow is not guaranteed so if you can do that and then hopefully something will come up.

‘Obviously it’s the Women’s World Cup next year… could there be an opportunity to do some presenting? I definitely wouldn’t turn that down especially with it being back in Australia as well but hopefully I wouldn’t have to live in the jungle!’   

She was gutted to have missed out on the Men’s World Cup games that kicked off in Qatar this month and admitted she felt her heart sink every time she knew they were playing.

But she tried to stay connected to the game in any way she could, including having three plays of Sweet Caroline as her luxury item and bonding with fellow finalist Owen Warner over their dream starting lineup.

Jill said: ‘I don’t think I would have been in Qatar, but I would have been watching every game.

‘I saw mine and Owen’s mood just drop every time there was a game day. We were desperate to find out the score.

‘We filled so much time speaking about who we would play in our starting 11, I had three plays of Sweet Caroline so on the days England were playing so we tried to have those connections as much as possible.’  

Jill and her fiancée Shelly run a coffee shop in Manchester called Boxx2Boxx, which is named after the footballer’s position on the pitch as a box-to-box midfielder.

Despite spending the past three weeks enduring Bushtucker trials, surviving on rations and adhering to chores in camp, the low-key star says it won’t be long until she’s back fulfilling her duties at the café.

She added: ‘As soon as the Euros was over, I went in because I like to thank everyone for the support.

‘We have customers that have been so loyal to us and have kept the shop running, especially through Covid so 100 per cent. Just like the Euros, I’m not going to change who I am.’  

Indeed, she may well be the most modest winner in I’m A Celeb history, saying she’ll be celebrating her win on Monday night with a pizza, glass of wine and catch-up with her co-stars.

She said: ‘I just want a margarita pizza, have some drinks, relax, I don’t want loads of alcohol I’m not a big drinker, that’s why when I did the challenge with Mike Tindall I was like this isn’t going to go well, I’m not a person that drinks a lot of drinks and he’s obviously a rugby guy.

‘As long as I can have two red wines with my camp mates and catch up with them properly and catch up with Shelly… I’m really looking forward to it.’