Sunderland-based tombola celebrates six years of sponsoring I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here after Jill Scott wins 2022 series

Based at Sunderland Fish Quay, the bingo giant has had a successful relationship with the ITV hit show for six years running.

To celebrate, the office was transformed into a jungle theme including a bug-handling experience with snakes and spiders, a photo booth with themed props and sweet treats, as well as a very special guest on the invite list – last year’s King of the Castle, Danny Miller.

The city is currently celebrating local lass Jill Scott’s win in this year’s series which drew to a close on Sunday.

The Lioness has been hailed as a “great ambassador” for the city, roaring to success after the former Monkwearmouth Academy pupil beat off competition from former health secretary Matt Hancock and Hollyoaks's Owen Warner to take the title.

Dawn Howe, Head of Marketing at tombola, said: “This isn’t just a sponsorship partnership. To fully activate this sponsorship, we launch new games, improve customer journeys and we make sure the website is robust enough to handle the additional traffic volumes — so the sponsorship touches every department. It’s great to recognise the hard work that everyone puts in. It’s a celebration and a thank you to the staff at the same time.

“We last did a launch event for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2017, which was the very first year of our sponsorship. Now, six years in, we have a lot of new starters (and, of course, we had covid in between) so we’re keen to showcase this huge sponsorship deal by bringing it to life.”

Andrew McFetrich, tombola’s talent acquisition lead, said: “tombola is a great place to work, whether it’s the free food and drink we have in our offices, the in-person and remote events, or attending conferences in Las Vegas. We invest in our people and we want to make this one of the best places for people to work”.

James Conway, Director of Technology, added: “The tech team have enjoyed getting involved and supporting the Marketing team with this sponsorship deal.”

“Last year's King of the Castle, Danny Miller, was in attendance and enjoyed a Q&A with staff, sharing many anecdotes from his time in the jungle."