"But I will say this: I think this year there are a lot of strong women, really strong personalities which I think is going to be fascinating to watch."
"You cannot be in a place like this and not be yourself. You just can't.
"Everyone has up days, everyone has down days.
Quickfire I'm a celeb questions with 2023 King of the Jungle Sam Thompson
"Happy or sad, being yourself... it's such a boring answer, but there are people who will come in here who are like, 'ooh, if I do this, if I do that, maybe if I get a trial I can do this, and airtime'... it goes straight out the window.
"I would say to anyone who's going to go far, it will be the person who just lives the experience.
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"The best part about the jungle is the sounds, the routine of traipsing up and down there to get water, going out there and going into the Bush Telegraph, making friends.
"The worst part... when it rains, it sucks a little bit. So I kind of hope it rains a bit, because now I'm working as a viewer, I kind of want to see people struggling a little bit.
"I would also say washing up sucked. No one wanted to wash up. Also, if you can't manage your boredom."
During our visit to the camp in New South Wales, The Sun was given a first glimpse at a new addition for the celebs - a Leaders' Lodge with two proper beds.
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The celebs will partner up and race into camp for this year's series, with the winners becoming camp leaders - the first time there will be two leaders.
They will rule over their campmates for the first few days, and get to sleep on mattresses while being sheltered from any possible rain - as their campmates sleep below them on hammocks and basic beds.
Sam said: "This is something completely new. This was not in my year.
"We never had this! This is going to be the most amazing sleep that they've ever had.
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"What I think is quite interesting is, we're bringing this in at the start, and I think it's going to be great because you're going to get people seeing how the other half live in the camp.
"For this year, it's going to be really interesting how people cope, because there's a lot of strong characters in this year.
"I'm kind of going against myself here... I think this is one of the best years, in terms of lineups, that we've ever had. I cannot believe that I get to work on it."
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I'm A Celebrity airs at 9pm on Sunday on ITV1 and ITVX.
I'm A Celebrity 2024
As the hit ITV show enters into its 24th series, a brand new batch of famous faces look set to enter the Aussie jungle once again to face terrifying Bushtucker Trials and living amongst the critters in camp in order to come out on top and be crowned King or Queen of the Jungle. The Sun's Jake Penkethman takes a look at the stars heading Down Under this year...
Coleen Rooney - Arguably the most famous name heading into the camp, the leading WAG, known for her marriage to Wayne Rooney, will be making a grand return to TV as she looks to put the Wagatha Christie scandal behind her. The Sun revealed the mum-of-four had bagged an eye-watering deal worth over £1.5million to head into the camp this year making her the highest-paid contestant ever.
Tulisa - The popstar and former X Factor judge looks set to be making a triumphant TV comeback by signing up to this year's I'm A Celeb after shunning TV shows for many years. Known for being a member of the trio, N-Dubz, Tulisa became a household name back in 2011 when she signed on to replace Cheryl on ITV show The X Factor in a multi-million pound deal.
Alan Halsall - The actor, known for playing the long-running role of Tyrone Dobbs on ITV soap opera Coronation Street, was originally signed up to head Down Under last year but an operation threw his scheduled appearance off-course. Now he will be hoping to become the latest Corrie star to win over both the viewers and his fellow celebrities when he gets into camp.
Melvin Odoom - The Radio DJ has become a regular face on TV screens after rising to fame with presenting roles on Kiss FM, BBC Radio 1 and 4Music. He has already been for a spin on the Strictly dancefloor and co-hosted The Xtra Factor with Rochelle Humes in 2015 but now he is facing up to his biggest challenge yet - the Aussie jungle.
GK Barry - The UK's biggest social media personality, GK, whose real name is Grace Keeling, has transformed her TikTok stardom into a lucrative career. Aside from her popular social media channels, she hosts the weekly podcast, Saving Grace, and regularly appears on ITV talk show, Loose Women. She has even gone on to endorse popular brand such as PrettyLittleThing, KFC and Ann Summers.
Dean McCullough - A rising star amongst this year's bunch of celebs, Dean first achieved notability through his radio appearances on Gaydio and BBC Radio 1. He was chosen to join the BBC station permanently in 2021 and has featured prominently ever since. He has enjoyed a crossover to ITV over the past year thanks to his guest slots on Big Brother spin-off show, Late & Live.
Oti Mabuse - The pro dancer has signed up to her latest TV show after making her way through the biggest programmes on the box. She origianlly found fame on Strictly Come Dancing but has since branched out into the world of TV judging with appearances on former BBC show The Greatest Dancer as well as her current role on ITV's Dancing On Ice.
Danny Jones - The McFly star was drafted into the programme last minute as a replacement for Tommy Fury. Danny is the second member of McFly to enter the jungle, after Dougie Poynter won the show in 2011. He is also considered a rising star on ITV as he's now one of the mentors on their Saturday night talent show, The Voice, along with bandmate Tom. A jungle insider said: "As well as bringing some of the star appeal of the group with him, he'll be supplying some serious guy candy for the campmates and viewers at home."
Maura Higgins - The Irish TV beauty first found fame on Love Island where she found a brief connection with dancer Curtis Pritchard. Since then, she has competed on Dancing On Ice as well as hosting the Irish version of the beauty contest, Glow Up. Since last year, she has been working on building up her career in the US by being the social media correspondent and host of Aftersun to accompany Love Island USA. She even guest hosted an episode of the spin-off, Love Island Games, in place of Maya Jama last year.
Jane Moore - The Loose Women star and The Sun columnist will be braving the creepy crawlies this year. The star is ready for a new challenge - having recently split from her husband. It will be Jane's first foray into reality TV with the telly favourite having always said no to reality shows in the past.
Barry McGuigan - Former pro boxer Barry will become the latest fighting champ to head Down Under following in the footsteps of Tony Bellew and Amir Khan. It comes after a tough few years for Irish star Barry, who lost his daughter Danika to breast cancer. He told : "She was such an intrinsic part of the family that every day we ache."
Rev. Richard Coles - Former BBC radio host the Rev Richard Coles is set for I’m A Celebrity — and is ready to let rip at his old employer. The former Communards and Strictly star, 62, said the BBC did not know its a**e from its elbow last year.An insider said: "Rev Coles will have a variety of tales to tell from his wild days as a pop star in the Eighties, through to performing on Strictly and his later life as a man of the cloth."
Sam with show hosts Ant and DecCredit: Rex
This year's line-up has some worthy contendersCredit: Instagram
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