Dancing On Ice star Oti Mabuse became the final star to be eliminated from theI’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! 2024 line-up ahead of the grand finale on Sunday night

There were cheers and tears as Oti Mabuse rejoined her former I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! campmates after narrowly missing out on being a finalist for the 2024 season.

The 34-year-old Dancing On Ice judge was the ninth star to be voted out of the jungle – leaving just McFly’s Danny Jones, The Communards’s Reverend Richard Coles and Coleen Rooney, the wife of footballer Wayne Rooney, to battle for the crown. After an impressive 19 days in Camp, Oti looked relieved to be back in civilisation as she arrived at the JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa to the sound of huge cheers.

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The mum-of-one beamed as she met a wall of supporters after exiting her taxi – with Love Island star Maura Higgins the first to throw her arms around her as the other past contestants also swarmed the dancer to place kisses on her head. Radio host Dean McCullough whispered a greeting into her ear and boxer Barry McGuigan bowed down to her as she joined the group.

As the cheers and applause continued to ring throughout the hotel lobby, podcaster GK Barry and Loose Women star Jane Moore also greeted her – while Coronation Street’s Alan Halsall also hugged the star.

The other eliminated 2024 I’m A Celeb stars were at the hotel ready to welcome the dance expert ( 
Image:
Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)

But it was Radio 1 DJ Melvin Odoom who had the most emotional reunion with Oti. The pair energetically embraced after bonding in the jungle, and other friends and family watched on as the small group of celebrities cheered. Oti then began to cry and was seen wiping the tears away from her eyes. The pair had described each other as being ‘like family’ in the show, with Oti coming to Melvin’s aid when he felt ready to quit.

Maura began chanting Oti’s name, and the clapping and cheering did not stop until a show executive intervened to drag the dancer away from the crowd.

As Oti left the entrance, Maura appeared to wipe away tears as the group went back to chatting among themselves. Noticeably absent was N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos who has reportedly returned to the UK after being left overwhelmed by her time in the jungle.

Oti Mabuse and Melvin Odoom shared an emotional moment
 

After exiting the series earlier in the week, the Young singer mysteriously deleted all social media posts about her time on I’m A Celeb that had been posted by her time while she was competing on the show. Eyebrows were raised when some fans noticed Tulisa followed all of her fellow contestants except boxing legend Barry on Instagram.

Explaining her seemingly abrupt turn on the show, Tulisa said in an online statement: “I’m just doing a little video to clear a couple things up. Just so you know, when I came out of the jungle, I felt fine first of all and then that evening my friends went to bed. I was on my Instagram trying to have a nice little scroll at some funny stuff. I was getting a lot of attention, a lot of bombarding in all the most positive way. But because it’s been a while for me I can get overwhelmed quite easily.”

Oti broke down in tears after their embraceDon’t Miss

And she added: “And I just started to feel overwhelmed. I thought do you know what, I really just need to take a bit of time for me and just chill. This is all feeling just a little bit much at the moment. I’m just going to archive all my stuff to do with the jungle. Then when the time is right and I’ve had a little time to process I’m going to make my own reels of all my best bits I really like.”

Her post-show comments reflected words she shared before her time in the jungle when Tulisa explained she was nervous to have cameras on her. She said in a pre-show interview: “I haven’t been thrust this much into the spotlight in a while and I have avoided it out of irrational fear. I will probably be the most emotional when I first go in. It will take me a while to settle in, but I know I will get past that.