Hollyoaks star Owen Warner is among the 10 celebrities who’ve already been revealed to be heading to the Australian jungle for the brand new series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! with two more additions still to come later in the run.
In the media, much has been made of the fact stars like Boy George and Chris Moyles have signed up for the ITV reality show – not to mention the furore that erupted when Matt Hancock was confirmed to be one of two late arrivals to the camp.
But for those who don’t watch Hollyoaks, you might not be familiar with Owen, so allow us to bring you up to speed on the 23-year-old campmate…
Hollyoaks fans will recognise him for playing Romeo Nightingale
Owen Warner is undoubtedly most famous for his role in Hollyoaks. He joined the Channel 4 soap as Romeo Nightingale in July 2018, when he was 19 years old. Romeo arrived on the scene with his mum Donna-Marie, played by former Coronation Street star Lucy-Jo Hudson.
In the four years since his scandalous arrival on Hollyoaks, during which it emerged he was the son of established character James Nightingale, Owen’s character has been involved in a number of major storylines. Among these were his false imprisonment for the death of Mac Nightingale and his ongoing relationship with Cher Winters.
The character has proved popular among viewers, even being voted Best Soap Newcomer by Digital Spy readers in 2018.
And while Romeo has been briefly written out of Hollyoaks to accommodate Owen’s stint in the jungle, the actor has insisted he’ll be back on the show once his I’m A Celeb experience is over.
But what acting roles did he have before joining Hollyoaks
Before signing up for Hollyoaks, Owen had just two on-screen credits to his name, both in short films.
As a teenager, he played Trev in a short called Beverley, and also played a raver in 20th Century Tribe, which was released the same year as his Hollyoaks debut.
You may have also seen Owen in the headlines due to some of his famous former girlfriends
Shortly after starting in Hollyoaks, Owen began dating his co-star Stephanie Davis, with whom he eventually split in 2019.
Interestingly, Stephanie was supposed to have signed up for the jungle back in 2015, but had to drop out due to her severe nut allergy (she went on to make an explosive appearance on Celebrity Big Brother the following January).
Following this, he’s been linked to Geordie Shore star Chloe Ferry and The Apprentice finalist Camilla Ainsworth.
And I’m A Celebrity isn’t his first time on reality TV
That being said, his previous two appearances were due to his friendship with close pal and Hollyoaks co-star Malique Thompson-Dwyer.
In 2018, he was a guest on the now-defunct I’m A Celebrity spin-off Extra Camp to show his support for Malique, who was a campmate at the time.
Earlier this year, he also made an appearance on the BBC reality show Eating With My Ex, again to show his support for the Prince McQueen actor.
He has a loyal following over on his Instagram page
Thanks to his role in Hollyoaks, Owen has racked up a quarter of a million followers on Instagram. We can only imagine why…
We have a feeling those numbers might be about to sky-rocket, too.
You can also catch him on TikTok, where he vented his frustrations about comparisons with a certain Love Island star
Catch some of his more popular videos below...
Owen is jumping into I’m A Celebrity with both feet
“I am excited for people to get to know me as a person and not a character,” he said prior to his entrance.
“People are so used to seeing me recite lines that have been written for me, and most of them are not what I would say myself.”
He added: “I have told all my friends to vote for me because I will feel like I have wasted it if I don’t do the trials. The trials are part of the I’m a Celebrity experience. It’s great to be going to Australia, the OG format.”
I’m A Celebrity launches on Sunday 6 November at 9pm on ITV. Check out the full line-up here.