Revealed: When Maura Higgins will arrive in Australia for I'm A Celeb

Her whirlwind trip to Las Vegas had fans convinced she wasn't joining this year's I'm A Celebrity as a late entry.

But MailOnline can reveal Maura Higgins , 33, will arrive in Australia 'imminently' and is simply cutting it fine with her partying in Sin City over the weekend.

An ITV source said: 'She will be arriving this week, the brand trip was always part of the schedule as Maura had agreed to it and it fit into her arrival dates for the Jungle.'

For weeks it's been rumoured the Love Island star, 33, was a contestant on the ITV flagship show and Maura has done her best to throw fans off the scent in the past few days.

But in an attempt to squeeze out every last ounce of luxury from her lavish lifestyle, Maura accepted a paid-for trip to Vegas with the beauty brand, Space NK, which she knew would be cutting it fine when it came to her arrival Down Under.

Staying at the 500 dollars a night Palazzo at the Venetian Hotel, Maura was joined by the likes of Stacey Solomon and was flown out on Thursday first class to Las Vegas.

Treated to morning facials and extravagant dinners of calamari at Nobu and lobster at the Bellagio, it's a far cry from what's in store for her in Australia, a diet that will consist of rice and beans.

After watching Adele at her Vegas residency, when the Easy on Me singer even interrupted her song to compliment Maura on her scarlet red suit, the Love Island star went on to party the night away with friends.

Playing into how last minute the trip was before the Jungle, Maura teased fans that she was headed to Australia by posting a picture of an aeroplane with the caption, 'Where to?!'

When she later popped up in Las Vegas, fans who were expecting her to arrive at Brisbane Airport, were sent into a tailspin claiming she had already quit the Jungle.

But ITV knows she is too good a signing to let go.

When she entered the Love Island villa in 2019 with her non-nonsense confrontational demeanour, ITV bosses could not believe their luck and the Irish star quickly became a fan favourite.

And the network is no doubt hoping for the same approach from Maura when it comes to the I'm A Celebrity jungle which will make her the perfect late arrival to shake the camp up.

She will be joining the likes of super Wag, Coleen Rooney, 39, and N-Dubz's Tulisa Contostavlos, 36, for three weeks living a diet of rice and beans and camping among spiders and snakes.

Strictly's Oti Mabuse and McFly singer Danny Jones are among the other signings this year.