Question Of Sport star says he’s up for I’m A Celeb jungle – years after turning down ITV bosses

MATT Dawson is up for heading into the I'm A Celebrity jungle astir 2 decades aft helium turned down the ITV world show.

The England rugby satellite cupful winner, 52, has already tried his manus astatine Strictly and Celebrity MasterChef, present the Aussie wilderness could beryllium connected the cards.

Speaking exclusively to The Sun connected behalf of Monopoly Go!, Matt said: "The timing is ever truthful important isn't it. I went consecutive into A Question of Sport whilst I was playing rugby and past I retired and carried connected doing A Question of Sport.

"That archetypal twelvemonth I went into Celebrity MasterChef And past went consecutive into Strictly, truthful it was conscionable similar a segway into that vocation into immoderate astonishing shows.

"I look to retrieve them asking maine whilst I was inactive playing, which is evidently intolerable to do, but determination are hundreds of radical astir apt a small spot much hopeless to bash it than I am.

"It's 1 that I bask watching. You ticker Ant and Dec, it's conscionable an astonishing show, you consciousness it would beryllium a nice happening if you were ever asked to bash it but it's not thing that I volition beryllium knocking connected ITV's doorway to accidental 'Please, please, delight fto maine bash it'."

A keen amateur cook, Matt won the archetypal ever bid of Celebrity MasterChef backmost successful 2006.

He looks backmost fondly astatine the acquisition and it remains 1 of his all-time favourites from his clip connected TV.

"MasterChef was disconnected the charts," helium said. "It was close up my street. I emotion my food, emotion my cooking, emotion learning and met immoderate astonishing people, chefs etc

"That was incredible. It took maine a portion to get going and to recognize that was a precise antithetic satellite from what I was utilized to.

"But erstwhile I got implicit that hurdle It was an astonishing amusement to beryllium a portion of."

Though he's a household sanction and nary alien to amusement shows, Matt's toes curl astatine the thought of being called a celebrity.

When he's not connected the box, he's moving successful the nonrecreational rugby and moving his ain business improvement consultancy.

"I'd accidental I've been offered astir of them," helium said of the large world shows. "I've got a job, I work, it's difficult. It's not similar I beryllium astir waiting to spell connected TV, I've got a mean time to time job.

"I'm benignant of astatine bid arsenic to what I do, I emotion the enactment that I bash moving wrong rugby, moving with charities, spending clip astatine location with my household I get to bash opportunities similar this, which is connected betwixt the firm and the rugby broadside of things.

"So it's not rather arsenic casual arsenic conscionable saying 'come on, let's spell to the jungle'. Out of each of them I deliberation that would beryllium the 1 that I would bash lone due to the fact that I've ne'er met anybody who's been connected it who has said thing different than it was utterly amazing."

With the 6 Nations successful afloat swing, Matt has teamed up with authoritative mobile gaming spouse Monopoly Go! to radiance a spotlight connected the value of integer transportation and communication.

New probe has recovered that much than a 3rd of Brits consciousness they don't spot capable of their loved ones. To assistance them enactment connected and observe Monopoly Go! becoming the authoritative gaming spouse of the 6 Nations, the mobile crippled is offering rugby fans the accidental to win a luxury travel to Paris for Super Saturday, including first-class travel, 2 nighttime enactment astatine IHG hotel, Kimpton St Honoré Paris, and matchday tickets.

An avid subordinate of the game, Matt said: "That full thought of societal interaction, I'm mostly fascinated to cognize however these types of things acceptable successful with athletics crossed the board, but it feels similar rather a important displacement for rugby to person a partner, a mobile gaming partner, archetypal clip it's ever been done successful rugby truthful to beryllium a portion of that large displacement for the athletics is thing I'm precise pleased to beryllium a portion of.

"Whether it beryllium a mobile gaming app oregon if it's implicit a Zoom speech with you you consciousness a batch much connected and I deliberation from a sports position that's truly important."

It's a melodramatic alteration from Matt's clip connected the tract 2 decades agone erstwhile societal media and connection apps were successful their infancy.

"I didn't needfully recognize that 20 unusual years ago," helium said. "But connected reflection and I spot it, it's rather inspiring, you spot a batch of the existent players speech astir it rather a batch connected however overmuch clip they're spending with their teammates and they mightiness accidental it generically, but really it volition impact spending clip connected mobile gaming arsenic overmuch arsenic spending clip astatine the pub oregon spending clip implicit meal oregon connected the rugby transportation oregon successful the gym.

"It's starting to go rather fluid and earthy to bash that and having that examination to the radical successful the audience, the fans, the millions of radical that are loving rugby I would accidental a immense radical of that radical are already doing that, but wouldn't needfully link that to rugby."