ITV I'm A Celeb's Danny Jones was minutes from pulling out of show after issue at home

McFly star Danny Jones, tipped as this year's favourite for I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, almost didn't make it to the jungle after he misplaced his passport just before his scheduled departure. Amidst the chaos of preparing for a house move, the singer panicked that his passport was packed in one of the many sealed boxes.

The hectic search upended his home and delayed his travel to the recording studio, with his flight time fast approaching. The recent addition to the hit reality show said: "Leaving the house was one of the most stressful mornings of my life."

He detailed the nerve-wracking experience, saying: "Because one: I'm leaving. I didn't know I was doing the show, right? Until, like, pretty last minute. My wife has to move house. I was meant to be, like, I've done this. I've done the 21st anniversary, we've been touring for two years straight," reports the Express.

Jones, also famed for his coaching role on The Voice, added, "I've just got The Voice. It was a great year, and I'm just gonna move house. I'm just gonna chill and have Christmas," reports the Mirror.

"But no, there were different plans! So leaving the house was quite stressful. And here's the double reason why it was stressful: I couldn't find my passport in the morning. I was literally going, 'Darling, I've got to go to the airport now and I can't find my passport!'"

Danny mused about his rushed departure saying, "So I was literally like, it was such a quick goodbye, I felt like I've not really said goodbye. But in a way, I look at that as a bit of a positive, because it wasn't so like, you know, long-winded and kind of like, I don't know when I'm going to see him again."

He added amidst laughter: "Well, here's the thing: I already packed it in my bag! I was already prepped, man. So there's me, like I went to the drawer where I thought it was, wasn't there. Panicked, and obviously, because we're moving house, I'm emptying every single box that we've packed over the past few weeks."

Continuing his story, he said: "And I went to the studio, because I parked my car there, and I was like, it's not in my car. I had to go back home, and then as I checked my bag that I was going to the airport with, it was sat there staring at me. I said to my wife, 'Darling, it's fine. I found it. I must have packed it last week and forgot about it. I'm so organised I forgot about it."

As a cornerstone of McFly since the early 2000s, along with Tom Fletcher, Harry Judd, and Dougie Poynter - who was declared king of the jungle in 2011 - Danny has enjoyed considerable success.

Danny captured the hearts of ITV viewers when he won The Masked Singer earlier this year, and subsequently posted a touching video in which his six-year-old son Cooper discovers that 'Piranha', whom he admired on the show, was none other than his dad.

A visibly emotional Danny spoke about the challenges of being apart from his family, saying: "I couldn't tell him. It was a little bit like The Masked Singer. As I was leaving, I was like, 'Daddy's going away for a few weeks'. But then when it got announced, I'm sure he would find out now, but I said to him, 'You're gonna come on an adventure with Mummy and be a good boy'. I've never been away for this long."

He went on to talk about his struggles with communication while being away: "We normally have a two-week thing on it where if it's any more than two weeks, you've got to come and say hi. I mean, FaceTime does obviously help, but that's taken, my whole communication has been taken away. And it's not just while you're in the jungle, it's in this lockdown bit that I'm in now for a week as well. So in its entirety, it will be, you know, just over a month."

Finally, reflecting on his emotional nature, Danny added: "It is hard, and you've got time with yourself, and I'm a big thinker - a big over-thinker - so it's a real challenge. But I wear my emotions on my sleeve, and I'm definitely, 100 per cent will be so overexcited and emotional when I see the people that I love the most walking towards me. I think that would be a special moment, and I'm not scared to show my emotions either."

He also admitted the possible challenges he may face in the camp could be daunting, especially dealing with trials and nine strangers. Despite his experience as a pop star, he expressed feeling more secure on stage with his band than navigating camp life alone.

"It's a scary place to be. Not only are you limited to what you eat, I'm in there with a load of strangers. I'm vulnerable. And because I can't hide behind... see, everything I've done in the past, I feel like I'm protected in, you know, if I've got my guitar, or if I'm singing, I've always got something to kind of not hide behind, but to protect me."

He said, further adding: "I'm more comfortable singing than I am talking. I'm more comfortable playing in front of O2 Arena than doing an interview. It's just the way I'm wired. So I'm going to be vulnerable, and that scared me. But I'm just gonna do my best and I don't know, maybe I'll have some switch that goes on, like survival mode, and I've got to do it. But maybe I won't. Maybe I'll be an absolute wimp. We'll see."

Danny has emerged as the bookies’ favourite to clinch victory, buoyed by his likable personality, his prominence in a successful band, and triumphs on two ITV primetime shows this year – The Voice and The Masked Singer – positioning him as a formidable competitor.

When questioned about the possibility of being crowned king of the jungle on I'm A Celebrity, he replied: "I can't even fathom what it would feel like to win the jungle. I think why it would probably mean so much is that, even though I may look super confident, we have insecurities, and we're fragile as human beings. I've never been out there as just myself in such a vulnerable state.

"And I think just having the approval of the British public and people that... oh, you actually do like me or whatever, it's kind of nice to know that, and I think that would be just the cherry on top. And if I won it, I'd definitely, 100 percent get a brand new tattoo of the crown and the stick somewhere on my body to represent it. Absolutely would."

He continued: "I've got The Masked Singer under my belt, I've got The Voice under my belt - I'm going for the Treble. I'm going for the Pep Guardiola! And I know that I will try my best. All you can do is your best, and I'm going to do my very best to impress you guys, impress my son and impress my campmates."

I'm A Celebrity is back and returns to our screens on ITV and ITVX on Sunday night (November 19) at 9pm with an extended 105-minute episode.