NewcastleWorld’s 12 days of Christmas: Day seven sees a former NUFC star make an unexpected comeback

On day seven of NewcastleWorld's 12 Days of Christmas, we look at a certain Frenchman who had the nation swooning this year.

Out of all former Newcastle United players to make headlines in 2021, it's fair to say that few would have predicted that David Ginola would take centre stage.

The former winger, who joined the Magpies in 1995 for £2.5 million, featured on this year's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! on ITV.

Of course, that meant him crossing paths with Geordie duo Ant & Dec, who constantly referred to the star as 'legend'.

Ginola made 58 appearances for Newcastle over a successful two-year stint on Tyneside.

Whilst in the castle on I'm a Celeb, Ginola won over viewers with his French charm and dashing looks.

In the early weeks, Ginola was a firm favourite to win the show but was eventually pipped at the post by Emmerdale's Danny Miller, finishing fourth.

While on the show the former footballer did talk briefly about his career, consoling music producer Naughty Boy after a trial by remembering one particularly poor performance for Tottenham Hotspur, but more often he was gushing about his girlfriend.

Ginola is with model Maeva Denat, who penned the star a moving letter while he was away on the show.

The former footballer's exploits this year and popularity will no doubt lead to him cropping up on our screens more often in the future.