Rooney is competing on the ITV reality show, which returns on Sunday, alongside Dancing On Ice judge and former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse, N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos and McFly star Danny Jones. In the new episode, the wife of former England goalscorer, Wayne Rooney, landed on a beach and had to compete against her fellow celebrities by pairing up with another contestant. Rooney was chosen by McCullough so they could fight to become the first leaders of the camp – which would exempt them from the first bushtucker trial, and allow them to sleep in the comfort of the leaders’ lodge.
After skydiving to the beach, McCullough has the choice of Rooney or his Radio 1 colleague Melvin Odoom. McCullough says: “Melvin, I’m so so sorry, Wagatha Christie you’re coming with me.” Rooney was dubbed the name, a combination of crime writer Agatha Christie, and the term given to the wives and girlfriends (Wag) of footballers, after accusing Rebekah Vardy of leaking her private information to the press in a viral post on social media.
Vardy, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy and was in the jungle in 2017 – started a high-profile libel battle against Rooney. In July 2022, a judge at the High Court found the post was “substantially true”, and Vardy was ordered to pay damages to Rooney. The other celebrity pairings are Irish boxing champion Barry McGuigan and Jones, Coronation Street actor Alan Halsall and Contostavlos, Loose Women sta.