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Wayne Rooney has an unusual phobia that he will be hoping he does not stumble across during the jungle after being revealed as the 2026 headliner for I'm a Celebrity.

Manchester United's record goalscorer has been focusing on punditry following a disappointing spell in management with Derby County, D.C United, Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle.

The ITV reality show returns on November 16 and according to The Sun, Rooney will be part of the star-studded line-up when it is officially announced by ITV.

Arguably the biggest signing in the show's history, he follows on from his wife Coleen after she reached the final in 2024.

One of England's greatest ever players, Rooney has a lot of qualities that could see him thrive in Bushtucker trials and challenges.

But the 41-year-old has already revealed his phobia to be large fish following an admission.

During an appearance on punditry for BBC in a FA Cup clash between Brighton and Nottingham Forest, host Gary Lineker stated: "We still got a little time to talk. What we did learn during that first half was that Wayne Rooney's scared of fish."

Rooney explained: "I just don’t like them. It’s the big fish that I’m scared of."

Rooney's kids are said to be ecstatic about watching him take on the jungle and he will be hoping to become the second ever footballer to win the show.

Lioness legend Jill Scott made history when she was crowned Queen of the Jungle in 2022.

John Fashanu came close when he finished 2nd in 2003, while in 2015 Kieron Dyer was fourth – the same place David Ginola finished in 2021.

Ian Wright came eighth during his appearance in 2019, while Jimmy Bullard, Harry Redknapp and Wayne Bridge are other notable names in football to participate.

Rooney's other half Coleen reportedly received £1.5 million for her appearance two years ago, with it expected that the former Everton star's fee will surpass that.

As per rumours, Rooney is not the only sportsman to be heading Down Under. That's because Ade Adepitan, former wheelchair basketball player, has signed up.

The 53-year-old won bronze at the 2004 Athens Paralympics when he represented Great Britain and a year later he claimed gold at the 2005 Paralympic World Cup.

Adepitan, who received an MBE for his services to disability sport, lost the use of his left leg after contracting polio when he was just 15 months old.

He will become become the first I'm a Celeb contestant with a wheelchair to appear. ITV will therefore adapt the camp to help Adepitan get around, while some trials involving him would likely have to be modified in some way.

Lewis Hamilton's biggest complaint about the FIA's decision to award Charles Leclerc a five-second penalty for their lap one incident at the Mexico City Grand Prix has been proven even further by new data.

Hamilton finished second in Mexico City behind Max Verstappen, with Leclerc eventually crossing the line in fourth. But the big drama occurred on the opening lap when Leclerc left the track and gained an advantage at turn four, having taken too much speed into the corner as he attempted to overtake Hamilton around the outside for first place.

Hamilton also went off the circuit but rejoined in the correct manner, falling behind Red Bull's Verstappen. But by his actions, Leclerc was able to take the lead and, because he was not ordered to give the position back, kept hold of it and pulled out a considerable advantage over Verstappen and Hamilton behind.

While Hamilton made his feelings clear about Leclerc's move on the first lap of the race, he was also highly critical over team radio of the FIA's decision to punish the Monegasque driver with only a five-second penalty. Under the FIA's regulations, a standard 10-second penalty is usually applied, but the stewards deemed there to be mitigating circumstances in that Hamilton also left the track.

Their decision meant that Hamilton was effectively dealt a double blow, in that he had to conserve his tyres in dirty air behind Verstappen while Leclerc was free to push on ahead.

By the time of their first pit stops, Leclerc had pulled out over eight seconds on Hamilton and, as race leader, was given pit stop priority. With Hamilton pitting a lap later, Leclerc was able to serve his five-second penalty and still be ahead of his team-mate by the time both drivers had stopped.

Individual lap time data from the Mexico City Grand Prix has emerged which proves Hamilton's point perfectly. Across just three of the opening 26 laps – before both Ferraris pitted – was Hamilton faster than Leclerc, and one of those was on Leclerc's in-lap when he would have been slower in approaching the pit exit.

Conversely, when he had slightly more free air, Hamilton was quicker than Leclerc on the medium tyres for six consecutive laps, until he again held back to conserve his tyres.

Following the red flag, Hamilton was a cumulative 10 seconds quicker than Leclerc over the final 20 laps of the Grand Prix and set a faster lap time on every occasion – though the mitigating factor in that part of the race was that Leclerc had badly flat-spotted his front left tyre after a severe lock-up on the restart.

But those laps do show that, if the seven-time world champion had been in clean air for the first stint like Leclerc was, there would be no reason why Ferrari couldn't have secured a one-two.

After being told by race engineer Carlo Santi that Leclerc had been awarded a five-second penalty, Hamilton replied: "The problem with the five-second penalty is that he's got clean air. He doesn't have to manage like the rest of us. Should just give the positions back."

"The stewards have basically handed Charles this win. We agreed in the drivers' briefing."

"We, as a team, worked so hard," Hamilton said in his post-race press conference. "We could have easily had a one-two today. We had the pace to do so.

"We're going into turn four [in] first and second. If we just held position, I think anything can happen in the race. But when your team-mate works against you, and then you lose positions like that, it's definitely tough.

"I think the core thing to remember, which maybe comes with age, is that every decision you make in the car impacts all the people who work in the background. The whole team. So working as a team is part of our job and part of our contract. We have to work as a team, which we could have easily done today.

"It's a shame to see us lose today, and that will just continue unless action is taken and a real, deep, serious conversation is had so it shouldn't happen moving forward."