'I'll kill them' Maureen Lipman issues threat to I'm A Celeb bosses over Alan Halsall's jungle jaunt

14 November 2024

'Coronation Street' star Dame Maureen Lipman has issued a threat to 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' bosses - insisting she will "kill them" if anything happens to her co-star.

Dame Maureen Lipman issues threat to I'm A Celeb bosses over Alan Halsall's jungle jaunt

The 78-year-old actress - who plays Alan's on-screen grandmother Evelyn Plummer in the ITV soap - has joked she will "personally" deal with the show's producers if the Tyrone Dobbs actor comes to any harm Down Under, after he was previously forced to delay his jungle appearance by a year due to a knee injury.

Speaking about Alan's upcoming stint on the ITV show, she said in a comical, yet slightly terrifying, way on 'Lorraine': "He was going to go last year but hurt his knee.

"If they harm one hair on that boy’s head, although he hasn’t got much, or give him turkey testicles, I will personally kill them.

"He will be fine though because he is a lovely human being."

Maureen believes Alan may come across as "guarded" to his fellow campmates - who include McFly's Danny Jones, N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos, and 'Loose Women' pair GK Barry and Jane Moore - at first, but insisted they will soon find out he is a "lovely person".

She said: "His life is very sorted, and he is a better actor than you would ever know.

"He likes his golf, and he will be very guarded at first but if people get underneath, they will find out he is a lovely person."

Ahead of his jungle debut, Alan admitted he wants viewers to get to know more about him, after playing cobbles resident Tyrone since 1998.

Asked about the biggest misconception he wants to dispel in the jungle, he said: "It will be nice for people to get to know a bit more about me rather than my character, Tyrone."

Quizzed on what his role in camp might be, he said: "Joker. For such a small person, I have got a big personality and I can be quite jokey!

"I am hoping people will share my sense of humour."