Barry McGuigan is the SIXTH star to the touch down in Australia forward of his I’m A Celeb stint and jokes he is ‘there to signal his subsequent large fighter’

Barry McGuigan has become the sixth star to touch down in Australia ahead of his appearance on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!

The boxing legend, 63, will join big names such as Coleen Rooney, Danny Jones, Alan Halsall and Tulisa in the famous camp when the series kicks off on Sunday.

Speaking to MailOnline after arriving Down Under he said: ‘I’m here to sign the next best Australian fighter, Geoff Fenwick, eat your heart out. I’m going to go searching for him. There might be a few tasks along the way.

When asked about Jungle life, he said: ‘I haven’t been camping very often, I used to do it in the Scouts.’

It was previously reported that the promoter was drafted in as a last-minute replacement for Ally McCoist, after he pulled out of the lineup.

A source said: Barry is a bona-fide sporting legend and he’s a great person to have heading for the jungle. When he rose to fame in the 1980s as the WBA featherweight boxing champ he became a non-sectarian ambassador. 

‘He fought for both Ireland and Great Britain and was loved and respected on both sides of the divide. There’s not many who can say that.’

Barry held major featherweight titles from 1983 to 1986, and was named BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year in 1985.

In 2017, he also poked fun at pal Amir Khan, and branded him ’embarrassing’ when he ran away from a snake during his own jungle stint. 

It comes as Coleen Rooney began her lengthy journey to Australia as she headed to the airport on Monday.

The WAG, 38 – who is reportedly being paid £1.5million – was seen checking in at the desk as she prepared for a the long flight ahead of landing in Brisbane for the show.

In a special nod to her family, Coleen was seen wearing a gold necklace with the names of her four sons – Kai, Kit, Klay and Cass. 

Cutting a chic figure for her travels, Coleen donned a loose-fitting black blazer with a white pattern and matching trousers by Toteme.

Coleen’s jungle stint comes as she was reportedly left ‘gutted’ as her husband Wayne is forced to miss out on an ’emotional’ I’m A Celebrity moment. 

She is gearing up for her hugely anticipated appearance on the ITV series which kicks off November 17 and wraps up December 8. 

And while the campmates’ close friends and family will fly out to meet their loved ones on the famous bridge, Wayne’s busy football schedule will prevent him from being there. 

The former player is currently the manager of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle and is desperate to see results. 

His team have matches on November 22, 26 and 30 as well as December 7, 10, and 14. 

A source told The Sun: ‘Coleen will be gutted Wayne can’t get out there to meet her, but she understands how demanding his job is. He’s desperate to string a decent set of results together before Christmas.

‘He and Coleen have been living miles apart for months, so that will have prepared them for the separation.’ 

‘Coleen’s very family-orientated, so she’ll find the show tough. Whoever is waiting for her, it’ll be incredibly emotional.’

MailOnline contacted Coleen’s representative for comment. 

Elsewhere, it has been revealed that Coleen will be exempt from certain trials due to medical grounds. 

The wife of former England and Manchester United footballer Wayne has been ruled out of the gruelling trials due to her reactive arthritis. 

Coleen’s arrival comes after GK Barry became the fifth star to jet into Brisbane Airport on Monday ahead of this year’s I’m A Celebrity.

The influencer and Loose Women star, 25, who donned a black and white tracksuit with shades, looked in good spirits while wheeling a trolley laden full of luggage as she prepared to begin her stint in the Australian jungle.

Radio 1 DJ Dean McCullough, N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos, McFly star Danny Jones and Coronation Street legend Alan Halsall all arrived in Australia over the weekend ahead of their stint on I’m A Celeb.

Arriving Down Under, the internet personality, whose real name is Grace Keeling, said the 22-hour flight was ‘a horror’ which saw her ‘down a whole bottle of wine’.

Claiming she was in Brisbane for ‘a zen retreat to work on myself’ she then went on to ask if there was Wetherspoon’s in Australia.

A self-proclaimed Wag, as she is in a relationship with England footballer Ella Rutherford, Grace joked that her girlfriend would ‘starve’ without her cooking and would be like ‘a grain of rice’ when she returned.

The beauty first rose to fame in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns by recording what she did in her days and posting the videos on TikTok.

By August 2020, five months after starting her account on the video-sharing platform, the then-21-year-old had 100,000 followers and had reached more than a million in just over a year.

Hailing from Cambridge, the influencer now has 4.5million followers across all social media platforms and is dating the Lioness striker, Ella Rutherford, 24.

Show insiders told MailOnline it’s hoped she will draw in a younger audience to this year’s show similar to last year’s signing of the YouTube sensation, Nella Rose.

But GK Barry’s arrival in Australia comes amid a social media storm over her recent interview with the adult content creator, Bonnie Blue, who films herself having sex with university students and sells the footage on her OnlyFans account.

Fans of GK Barry’s podcast, Saving Grace, were upset after they claimed the internet personality did not challenge Bonnie Blue and felt the choice of guest was harmful to young female fans.

GK Barry, who is a regular panellist on Loose Women, has since removed the interview from her podcast platform but has not yet formally spoken out about the uproar.

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Bonnie Blue defended the podcast host and said: ‘Grace’s interview style was never to interrogate me. She’s not an aggressive interviewer so it’s wrong that people are giving her hate. Her platform is to allow me to share my story and experiences. It was not her glamorising what I do for work, nor was she agreeing or disagreeing. So I think it was wrong for her to get so much hate.’ 

Meanwhile, BBC Radio 1 rising star Dean, 32, hosts an early morning daytime show on weekdays with the broadcaster and hails from Northern Ireland, starting out his career with Emma Goswell on Gaydio.

Dressed in a brightly-coloured green tracksuit, Dean was full of smiles as he touched down at the airport after his long 24-hour flight. 

Arriving Down Under, Dean said: ‘This is actually my first time in Australia. I’m here to pick up two koalas I’ve adopted, ones black and the other is white.

And in a nod to the show’s longtime hosts he added: ‘They’re called Anthony and Declan.’ 

When asked if he was prepared for the trip, the radio star added: ‘I’ll be alright. I’ve dealt with a lot of snakes in my time.’ 

In 2020 his career took off when he filled in for Clara Amfo on BBC Radio 1 for two days.

Since then he replaced Jordan North on his Fridays to Sundays slot from 10:30am to 1pm and is based in Salford’s Media City.

In 2022, Dean and Vicky Hawkesworth replaced Scott Mills and Chris Stark as co-hosts of Radio 1’s afternoon show and was the first Radio 1 show to broadcast outside London.

He has made no other TV appearances other than the show Young Free and Single Live hosted by Steve Jones on E4 at 9pm on Thursday evenings but the show only ran for one series.

Former X-Factor judge Tulisa, 36, stepped back from the spotlight in 2013 after a series of scandals but ten years later went on tour with N-Dubz and is now re-entering the reality TV world with a rumoured stint on the ITV flagship show.

Arriving Down Under the pop star kept a low profile amid the crowds, covering her identity with a full grey tracksuit, a mask and kept her head down as she walked.

After her 22-hour flight she asked: ‘Is there a McDonalds round here?’ and added, ‘Can’t go wrong with a Big Mac can you?’ 

Danny, 38, arrived with last year’s King of the Jungle, Sam Thompson, former contestant Joel Dommett and the radio DJ Kemi Rodgers who are hosting the spin-off show, I’m a Celebrity… Unpacked.

Danny flew from Heathrow, laying over in Singapore, cut and a casual and comfy figure for the 22 hour flight in an Oasis t-shirt, along with a guitar in his luggage.

A raging thunderstorm threatened to divert the plane carrying the first I’m A Celeb stars to Sydney Airport.

But Danny, along with the show’s spin-off hosts Sam, Joel and Kemi were one of the last passengers to touch down in Brisbane unscathed – all other flights had to make the 1:35 hour diversion.

In a hellish experience for passengers the plane was forced to hang above the runway for a time before it could land with Danny telling MailOnline: ‘The flight was pretty stormy, bit bumpy, bit of a hairy flight.’

Danny is following in the footsteps of his former band member Dougie Poynter, who went on to win the show in 2011.

Speaking to MailOnline Danny didn’t confirm he is taking part in the show, and instead joked he had big plans for his time Down Under: ‘I’m going to record a solo album. I’m going to be surfing, recording an album but the McFly boys don’t know it yet.’

Despite a knee injury threatening his attendance, Coronation Street’s Alan was the second star to arrive at Brisbane Airport.

The actor, 42, who is best known for playing Tyrone Dobbs in the ITV soap opera was forced to pull out of last year’s series because of the same knee injury which has since flared up again.

Last November, the father-of-one underwent major knee surgery and was told by doctors it could take him up to a year to recover.

The surgery sees the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructed by removing the torn ligament and replacing it with a tendon from another area of the leg.

It was reported on Friday the Coronation Street star had to pull out of a padel competition because of his knee and so speculation grew he would not make it to the Jungle.

‘Alan was meant to be taking part in a padel competition but pulled out at the last minute because his knee was playing up,’ a source told The Sun. 

‘It’s fine now but he just has to be really careful. He might not be able to take part in some of the trials, bosses are currently working out if he will be ruled out of any.

‘It’s a huge blow for Alan because he was looking forward to throwing himself into it and now has to be a bit wary.’ 

Arriving Down Under, Alan kept to ITV’s strict rules about not discussing his appearance on I’m A Celebrity until the official line-up has been revealed and insisted he was there for a golfing holiday.

He told MailOnline: ‘Not sure what all the fuss is about, I’m here on a golfing holiday. It’s a long way to travel for a golfing holiday but I’m an avid fan.’

When asked about his Coronation Street co-star Andy Whyment’s stint in the Jungle, he joked: ‘I wouldn’t take any advice of Andy! The plan is I’m going to be living in luxury while I’m here.’