I’m a Celebrity 2018: Everything we know so far about the new series

Harry Redknapp, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Tim Henman, Fleur East and both Danny and Dani Dyer all tipped for jungle as Holly Willoughby replaces Ant McPartlin on hosting duties

(PA)

The new series of ​I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! begins next month and the guessing as to who its new contestants will be is already hotting up.

Ant McPartlin’s absence for the first time since 2002 means Dec will be joined by a new partner for what promises to be as surreal a gathering of bug-eating, safari-suited oddballs as ever.

Here’s everything we know so far about this year’s expedition Down Under.

When does I’m a Celebrity 2018 start?

Always run late in the year, the latest instalment of I’m a Celebrity... will commence on ITV on Sunday 19 November 2018.

Who is hosting in place of Ant McPartlin?

With Ant still on hiatus from presenting as he battles a number of personal problems, his longstanding foil Declan Donnelly will be partnered by redoubtable This Morning host Holly Willoughby, an experienced hand on the tiller.

“I couldn’t be more excited to have been asked to stand alongside Dec for the next jungle adventure. I love Ant and want to send him my best wishes and support for a continued recovery,” Willoughby said when her tenure was announced in August.

“Whilst I am obviously sad at the thought of being without my best friend in Australia this year, I am proud of the work Ant has been doing privately and I am fully supportive of his decision,” Donnelly said in a statement.

“I’m looking forward to us both being reunited on screen in 2019.”

Which celebrities are rumoured to be taking the plunge?

No contestants have yet been confirmed for this year’s series but the rumour mill has been spinning overtime.

Among the most tantalising names mentioned is that of Harry Redknapp, football manager extraordinaire and master of the Transfer Deadline Day car window interview.

(Getty Images)

Other sporting veterans tipped to appear include snooker ace Ronnie O’Sullivan, Wimbledon semi-finalist Tim Henman and athlete turned TV personality Kriss Akabusi.

Both Dyers – Danny and Dani – have been hotly tipped, as have presenters Nick Knowles and Kate Garraway, pop stars Frankie Bridge and Heidi Range, InBetweeners actress Emily Atack, plus Charlie Sloth, Chloe Madeley, Gemma Collins (for a second stint)​ and Christine McGuinness, the latter married to newly announced Top Gear host Paddy.

The bulk of the rumours concern reality TV stars, with Brendan Cole from Strictly Come Dancing, Fleur East from X-Factor, Jamie Laing of Made in Chelsea fame and Anne Hegerty of The Chase all strongly linked, as is former Geordie Shore veteran Aaron Chalmers, now an MMA fighter.

Love Island graduates deserve their own category, with Zara McDermott, Alexandra Crane and Olivia Atwood all reportedly under consideration, along with Grant Capp, winner of the Australian version of the dating show.

The soaps are a further wellspring of rumours: Michael Le Vell, Catherine Tyldesley, Faye Brooks, Sair Khan, Katie McGlynn and Shayne Ward from Coronation Street are all thought to be in contention, as are Stephanie Waring and Malique Thompson-Dwyer from Hollyoaks, Rita Simons of EastEnders and Rosie Marcel from Holby City.

Despite speculation in some quarters, the idea that Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage or retired footballer Michael Owen might find themselves in the jungle seems unlikely indeed.