Pete Wicks and Maura Higgins enjoy final date night before she enters I'm A Celebrity jungle

Maura Higgins is expected to be a late arrival to the camp, along with author Reverend Richard Coles, and will join the likes of Danny Jones, Oti Mabuse, Coleen Rooney and Jane Moore

Pete Wicks and Maura Higgins enjoyed a final date night before I’m A Celebrity… Get Me out Of Here, despite her being absent from the official line-up.

The 33-year-old former Love Island star is expected to be a late arrival to the Australian jungle camp for this year’s hotly-anticipated ITV show, along with author Reverend Richard Coles. They were both absent from the official line-up photo, which confirmed the famous faces heading Down Under, and it was reported Maura and Richard would be jetting out later in order to keep their appearances under wraps.

Maura and Strictly Come Dancing star Pete, 36, enjoyed a glam date night in London ahead of her departure, and she looked stunning in a black velvet waistcoat and a white ruffled skirt. She teamed the chic ensemble with black stilettos and a matching clutch bag, and Pete sweetly co-ordinated his own outfit to his new girlfriend’s. He looked dapper in a black suit and black polo neck, with his brunette locks tied up in a loose bun. The hot new couple kept their distance from each other as they arrived at the London Palladium, as paparazzi waited for them to publicly confirm their romance with a kiss.

Maura spoke about her relationship with Pete during an interview on the We Need To Talk podcast with Paul Brunson, and said she had a real connection with the former The Only Way Is Essex star. She said they had been friends since she left Love Island in 2019, and had only recently taken their friendship to the next level. “We just get on very, very well. I adore him, he’s an amazing person,” she explained.

“Do you know what's so weird? We met very soon after me coming off Love Island and we just instantly clicked. Our humour is the same. It’s like that sick, dark humour. It's very abusive. We abuse each other. Very nasty, it’s hilarious,” Maura laughed.

Last week, Maura and Pete were spotted kissing and cuddling at a star-studded bash as they chatted to his Strictly co-star Wynne Evans, but fans are convinced Pete is head over heels in love with his professional dance partner on the BBC One show, Jowita Przystal, 30.

The couple left viewers - and the studio audience - in tears as they performed their Couples’ Choice routine on Saturday, and dedicated the emotional dance to Pete’s late nan. During rehearsals, they were seen getting cosy as the practised elements of the intimate routine, but both Pete and Jowita have claimed they are just friends.

While she admitted they had incredible chemistry, Jowita insisted they were just good friends. “We have very good chemistry together as friends, we really get on well with each other, and we have so much fun together. And dancing is a bit like acting, so we're telling a story every night on Saturday night, and I think we're doing a pretty good job,” she said. “But we're very good friends, and I love him so much as a brother, and I think we're going to stay friends for life, to be honest.”

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