After news broke that Love Island's Maura Higgins would be heading into the I’m A Celebrity! jungle, Closer has learned that ITV bosses are hoping she’s going to spill juicy gossip.
Maura 33, and Strictly star Pete Wicks, 36, have just confirmed their long-rumoured romance after being spotted on several occasions snogging and cosying up together. But previous to Pete, Maura had her fair share of relationship dramas – the most famous of which was with former Strictly pro Giovanni Pernice, who’s been in the headlines lately for all the wrong reasons.
A source says, ‘Maura has never said much publicly about Giovanni, and the reasons for their split remain a mystery. He’s obviously in the spotlight right now, and ITV producers hope that Maura might provide an insight into what he is really like.
‘ITV have gone all-out to land her. They’ve offered her a huge amount. It’s a massive show and would potentially be the biggest break of her career so far’.
Giovanni was accused of bullying by his former celebrity dance partner Amanda Abbington, which resulted in an investigation by the BBC. The findings, however, cleared him of the most serious allegations.
As well as settling scores and getting revenge on some of her famous exes, Maura – who rose to fame on Love Island 2019 – is well on her way to becoming part of the next bona fide ‘It’ couple with Pete.
The source says, ‘Pete has been very popular on Strictly. And if Maura goes on I’m A Celeb! and wins, she’d become one of the biggest celebrities in the country. At the same time, Pete could walk away with the Glitterball – and they’d both be inundated with work offers.’