Rooney's I'm A Celebrity debut delayed 24 hours by England's Nations League clash with Spain

Wayne Rooney’s much-anticipated debut on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! has been pushed back by 24 hours after ITV opted to prioritise England’s UEFA Nations League match against Spain, moving the show’s launch from its traditional Sunday night slot to Monday.

The former England captain is already the bookmakers’ favourite to win the series and is set to be the headline name among this year’s celebrity lineup, which also includes Big Brother presenter AJ Odudu, Love Island alumna Chloe Burrows, and Gavin and Stacey actress Joanna Page.

The scheduling change comes because ITV holds the broadcast rights to England’s Nations League showdown in Madrid, which kicks off at 7.45pm. The match against the reigning world champions was deemed too significant a draw to air alongside the jungle show’s opening night.

While fans will have to wait a little longer to see Rooney in the Australian jungle, his former Everton teammate Duncan Ferguson has already offered an insight into what luxury item the 38-year-old might be smuggling in with him.

“I’ll tell you the luxury item he’ll want to take in — his hairdryer,” Ferguson said on the Overlap show. “I used to have the room next to him sometimes in hotels, and I would be in my bed and I’d hear the television on, and the next minute the hairdryer would go on, all the way through, and I’d be going, ‘What’s that next door?’”

Ferguson explained that Rooney uses the noise of a hairdryer to help him sleep. “He sleeps with a hairdryer on. Because of the noise. I’ve not been there, but I’ve heard it. He puts the hairdryer next to him. He’ll have to take his hairdryer in. Good luck to him.”

The Nations League fixture against Spain is expected to draw a large television audience of its own, making Monday night a significant evening for ITV across both sport and entertainment.