Jill Scott becomes first LGBTQ woman to win I’m A Celebrity
A gay icon on the pitch and now queen of the jungle!
After a number of treacherous weeks in the jungle, Jill Scott has emerged victorious and been crowned the first LGBTQ woman to win I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!.
The former Lioness and Euros champion was declared the winner on Sunday night (27 November) with Hollyoaks star Owen Warner coming second and Conservative MP Matt Hancock in (controversially) third place.
“I’m totally in shock to be honest, I don’t know why everybody voted but just a massive massive thank you and just so honoured to be the queen of the Jungle,” Jill said, following her win.
“Honestly, I think I’m going to owe my grandma a lot of money for the 12 million votes she’s done,” the 35-year-old retired footballer added.
“We were one big team, I don’t think there should be one winner, we couldn’t have got through it without all of us.”
Jill joins Christopher Biggins as the only LGBTQ contestants who have gone on to win the show; Biggins won the show’s seventh series in 2007.
Leaving the jungle and walking on the red-carpeted bridge, Jill was greeted by her fiancée Shelly Unitt and later she reunited with fellow campmate contestants to celebrate her victory.
Her last challenge in the finale involved a lot of tongue action (jokes were made!) as she had to spin stars with her mouth to win tokens that were exchanged for meals.
Presenters Ant and Dec declared Scott won by a voting landslide against her fellow male contestants.
She’s been lauded for her open vulnerability, during her appearance on I’m a Celeb she opened up about her coming out and being a young woman playing football.
Many of her colleagues and teammates applauded her victory and shared their delight about her win.
“What you’ve seen in the jungle is exactly what Jill is like in real life! One of a kind & one of the best! [Jill Scott] is my QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE!” England teammate Anita Asante tweeted.
“Honestly one of the best people you’d ever get to meet and the worlds fallen in love with you too. Always been a queen. So happy for you,” Lauren Hemp, also Jill’s England teammate, tweeted.
Appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Monday (28 November), Jill shared that she’s missed being able to watch the World Cup: “Me and Owen [Warner] were begging for the scores every day. The day we won the ice lollies, we also had the scores and it was one of the best days in the jungle.”
Raising both the I’m a Celeb and Euros trophy above her head in quick succession, for Jill Scott … it’s coming home!