Spencer Matthews, rugby stars Jason Robinson and Gareth Thomas in The Jump 2017

(Image credit: Nils Jorgensen/REX/Shutterstock)

Despite a host of injuries on this year's series, The Jump will return to Channel 4 in the New Year featuring Made in Chelsea's Spencer Matthews

The first celebrity contestants for Channel 4's alpine sports show The Jump have been confirmed – Welsh rugby international Gareth Thomas, England World Cup winner Jason Robinson OBE, and former Made in Chelsea star Spencer Matthews will take tot he slopes.

Channel 4 announced The Jump would return despite a catalogue of nasty injuries to this year's contestants, including Beth Tweddle (neck), Tina Hobley (elbow), Mark-Francis Vandelli (ankle) and Linford Christie (hamstring).

Spence Matthews competed in the 2015 series of I'm a Celebrity, but left after two days to deal with unresolved drug issues.

The channel said The Jump would return for a fourth series early next year after a thorough review of safety standards following the last series. Series three averaged 2.3m million viewers across the six-week run.

Davina McCall will again host the series.

More contestants will be announced for The Jump in due course.

Editorial Use Only. No merchandising Mandatory Credit: Photo by ITV/REX/Shutterstock (5043091i) Jason Robinson 'The 2015 Rugby World Cup' ITV Presentation Team. - 07 Sep 2015 As the kick-off rapidly approaches, ITV looks forward to Rugby World Cup 2015 with a stellar line-up to bring viewers exclusive coverage of this year's biggest sporting event. ITV will provide live coverage of every single match throughout the six weeks of the tournament, hosted by England, with a line-out of legends from across the world of rugby providing the very best insight and analysis from the opening fixture on 18 September, through to the final on 31 October. Joining presenter John Inverdale in ITV's pack to lend their experience and expertise to the tournament coverage will be a team of pundits who can draw upon personal experience of competing for the sport's greatest prize, the Webb Ellis Cup. — Jason Robinson (ITV/REX/Shutterstock) (Image credit: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.