Coronation Street’s Sair Khan reveals the key advice she gave to I’m A Celeb’s Alan Halsall for jungle stint
CORONATION Street star Sair Khan has revealed the key piece of advice she has shared with her soap co-star Alan Halsall for his jungle stint.
Alan, known for his role as Tyrone Dobbs in the ITV soap opera, is currently slumming it Down Under on I’m A Celebrity – eight years after Sair took a trip to Australia for the reality TV show.
Sair, 36, admitted she had shared her best advice with Alan over the phone before he jetted out for the show, revealing the one job she would encourage him to do in the camp.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun’s TV Mag, Sair revealed: “I’ve definitely been on the phone to Alan, telling him my little tricks and tips if he wants an easy life…
“I said to him, for the jobs, if you’ve got a choice, pick the dunny because you only have to empty that toilet once a day!
“The other jobs, they take longer, with the washing up you have to go all the way down the steps to the water, do the manual labour of the cleaning and then you have to cart everything back up which takes ages.
“With the dunny, you’re in, you’re out.
Sair continued: “Also, it’s so boring in there. You see the highlights for an hour of 24 hours in a day so other people wouldn’t want to do that, they’d want to keep busy, so they might not pick that.
“If you’re not doing a trial, you’re sat around most of the day. I don’t think Alan will have a problem, he loves to sit around!”
In a candid confession, Sair admitted she did not love her experience as much as she expected too confessing that it was a major “culture shock”.
The actress said: “I found it really hard in there, the hanger was real, and the unfamiliarity and the culture shock as well for me personally.
“I don’t think I took to it as well as I thought I was going to. There are memorable moments, I wouldn’t say they were positive!”
Sair is currently gearing up for a return to the Corrie cobbles after taking a few months off from the ITV soap after welcoming her very first child.
Her character, Alya Nazir, left Weatherfield for a major job opportunity in Dublin earlier this year but she will be back to face the music with Adam Barlow very soon.
Alya and Adam were in the midst of a budding relationship but put a quick stop to the romance before it went any further.
Teasing the potential romance still to come, Sair said: “When I left, it was all very much up in the air.
“But you can definitely tell there’s a spark and a story still to tell. It is where we pick back up from when Alya comes back, so it should be interesting.
“I’m excited to see how it unfolds myself!”
I'm A Celebrity 2024
i'm A Celebrity is back for its 24th series, with a batch of famous faces living in the Aussie jungle. The Sun's Jake Penkethman takes a look at the stars on the show this year..
Coleen Rooney – Arguably the most famous name in the camp, the leading WAG, known for her marriage to Wayne Rooney, has made 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 be on the show this year making her the highest-paid contestant ever.
Tulisa – The popstar and former X Factor judge has made her 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 has become the latest Corrie star to win over both the viewers and his fellow celebrities.
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. Melvin 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 brands 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 originally 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 Fletcher.
Jane Moore – The Loose Women star and The Sun columnist is 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 is 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 bowel cancer. He told The Late Late Show in 2021: “She was such an intrinsic part of the family that every day we ache.”
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.
Rev. Richard Coles – Former BBC radio host the Rev Richard Coles is a late arrival on I’m A Celebrity, and he’s ready to spill the beans on his former employer. The former Communards and Strictly star, 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.”