Frankie Bridge and Simon Gregson joint favourites as ITV welcome 12 new I’m A Celeb stars to Gwrych Castle

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Is back with 12 brave new celebrities ready to take on everything the Welsh countryside can throw at them.

Soap royalty, football legends, musicians and Olympians are set to do battle in the hit ITV series, with the campfire just days away from being lit.

And with final preparations being made, and the infamous opening trial being set up over Alexandra Quarry, outside of Caernarfon, this Autumn’s series, the show’s 17th, promises to be box office.

The Saturdays and Loose Women star Frankie Bridge is joint 4-1 favourite for a North Wales coronation, alongside King of the cobbles Simon Gregson, who played hapless Steve McDonald on the ITV soap for 32 years, as the bookmaker became the first to reveal its odds for all 12 stars.

Five years after husband Wayne skydived into the Australian jungle, will it be a fun time for Frankie, as the show returns to Gwrych Castle in Wales for a second year?

Joining Gregson, who has clocked almost 3,500 appearances on the famous cobbles, is new Dad and Emmerdale star Danny Miller, known for playing Aaron Dingle, at 9-2. The 30-year-old who joined the soap back in 2008 is a three-time Best Actor winner at the British Soap Awards. These past 12 months have been a whirlwind for Miller, having proposed to partner Steph earlier this year, and recently welcoming baby boy Albert into the world.

Former BBC Breakfast host Louise Minchin is currently 13-2 after swapping BBC Breakfast’s famous red sofa for the castle, after more than 20 years on the flagship breakfast news programme.

And rival breakfast host Richard Madeley, recently appointed as full-time replacement of Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain, isn’t far behind on 15-2. Famous for his throw-away quips, and the best locks on breakfast television, ITV regulars are queuing up to see the This Morning legend tackle one of the famous Bushtucker trials.

Newcastle United legend David Ginola continues the long-standing tradition of former footballers, also competing at 15-2, while EastEnders’ Ian Beale icon Adam Woodyatt, 53, who has over 3,000 episodes under his belt, is 12-1.

Decorated para-sport athlete and Celebrity Masterchef champion Kadeena Cox, 30, and Tom Daley’s diving partner and Olympian Matty Lee, 27, make it three celebs all priced at 12-1.

DJ, model and presenter Snoochie Shy is 16-1, Shahid Khan (DJ Naughty Boy) is 25-1 and former Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips, 78, who has choreographed a number of West End and Broadway musicals, waltzes into the castle at 40-1.

Meanwhile, GMB’s Madeley is even-money favourite to be the first celebrity to squirm under the pressure of earning their next meal. Weatherfield staple Gregson, who has been on Corrie since 1989, and wolf of Walford Adam Woodyatt are locked together at 5-1, and big favourite to be crowned Queen on the Welsh jungle, Bridge, is 11-2 to tackle the first public-voted Bushtucker trial.

And, while the prospect of seeing the 12 celebrities put through a series of gruesome trials adds to the anticipation of the hit show’s return, each year somebody has to be first to leave.

This year DJ Naughty Boy is 7-2 to fade out, level-pegging with Arlene Phillips, while Kadeena Cox is third on William Hill’s list of those touted for an early departure, both 5-1 to walk back across the recently erected drawbridge as the first eliminated.