Comedian Andrew Maxwell says he taunts former rugby star James Haskell when England lose

The Dubliner appeared on the nineteenth series of I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! with James back in 2019, and the pair formed a solid bond when they were living as campmates together in the Australian jungle.

Speaking on FM104 this afternoon, Andrew shared that he still keeps in contact with the 36-year-old rugby star and admitted that he gives him a hard time when England are beaten in a game.

The comedian said: “I speak to James Haskell. When England get beaten in the rugby, I’m straight onto him on WhatsApp.

“That’s a real luxury, isn’t it? As an Irish rugby fan to actually know a former England player and be able to get on there and really stick it to him.

“Not just some fan, not a suburban solicitor. I’m talking an actual player,” he laughed.

When asked which star he thought would be a good match for I’m A Celeb, Andrew suggested comedian and novelist Jason Byrne but said it’s hard to predict who would do well until they have to face the jungle.

“I think Jason would be amazing in there,” he said.

“To be honest, you just don’t know. After the first week, starvation can have strange effects on you. I spent 24 hours hallucinating about rolling around in a bath of Maltesers. Genuinely, that’s all I thought about. Just get me in there and I’d eat like a pig in a trough. A trough of Maltesers.”

Andrew and Jason are among the star-studded lineup for this year’s Galway Comedy Festival alongside Deirdre O’Kane, Ed Byrne, Ardal O’Hanlon, and former It Galz star Lindsay Hamilton.

The festival will run for a week of laughs from Tuesday 19th October until Monday 25th October.