Although Mike won’t have access to his phone, someone close to the rugby ace will, and they shared a promotional image of Mike in the jungle uniform and shared a selection of emojis to highlight his journey on the show, including eyes, trees and caterpillars. The post stirred a huge response amongst his 207,000 followers, who were quick to share their joy at his entry.
And among them was none other than Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, the husband of Princess Beatrice.
Taking to the comments section, Edoardo also posted a series of emojis, including a spider, a caterpillar, and a nauseous face.
A second follower enthused: “Good luck Mike… you are the only reason I will watch… hope you go all the way, going to be an interesting adventure.”
A third mused: “I believe we already have this year’s King of the jungle identified?” and a fourth joked: “We NEED Zara’s reaction to trials on here.”
Chatting to ITV after his casting, Mike revealed that it was actually his podcast co-star James Haskell who talked him into taking part in the show, explaining: “It is sinking in now that I am taking part.
“I am ready to rumble! I have been asked on numerous occasions to take part. The timing was right this year and Hask (James) did the show and he had been talking about it.”
He continued: “I am eight years out of the game now so I am a bit more realistic about food, but I know James said the lack of food can sometimes be hard. But at least with the eating trials, you get food in you! It might not taste very nice but at least it is serving a purpose and giving you a protein intake. Bring on those challenges.”
He also spoke briefly about his wife Zara Tindall and their three children, Mia, Lena and Lucas, saying: “First and foremost, I will miss my family. I will miss my bed too and a nice breakfast.”
