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Kiosk Kev is on standby, the hammocks have been dusted off and the sheep’s brains are already in the blender. That’s right, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! is returning to screens once again – only this year it’s arriving off the back of another show that has set the bar much higher. Unfortunately for ITV, the debut episode of I’m a Celeb is airing less than a fortnight after the conclusion of the BBC’s newer, fresher juggernaut,The Celebrity Traitors.
Across nine episodes, the Beeb’s new kid on the block became the most-watched entertainment show of the year. And it wasn’t only a ratings winner. The viral clips (Tom Daley’s side-eye), memeable one-liners, and shocking outcome cemented the show’s position on any and all “best of 2025” lists. Both the civilian and celebrity versions of The Traitors have proven that even in the days of streaming, there’s still a hunger for good, old-fashioned event television. But only if the show concerned is actually worthy of chatter – which, when it comes to I’m a Celeb, is increasingly not the case.
If this season in the jungle is going to come close to the heights reached by TheCelebrity Traitors, the show’s producers would do well to take a few notes. One thing that is too late to fix, however, is the lineup. Announced today, it includes an underwhelming and predictable collection of soap actors, nepo babies, and no fewer than four ex-Strictly stars. Thankfully, ITV has stopped casting politicians looking to jumpstart their redemption arc, but quite frankly, that’s the bare minimum.
I’m a Celeb 2025’s motley crew of stars are lovely people, I’m sure – but it’s not exactly an exciting group. Take Ruby Wax: she’ll have one-liners aplenty and hopefully not pull any punches – but the broadcaster has shared so much over the years that it’s tough to imagine how even she will bring something new to the show.
By comparison, Celebrity Traitors was swimming in A-list names, many of whom you’d never expect to see on reality TV. There was actor and intellectual Sir Stephen Fry – a knighthood! On reality TV! – with actor Celia Imrie – farting, no less – and Alan Carr, the unlikely antihero who proved to be so terrible at being a traitor that the faithfuls suspected nothing.
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Predictable: the ‘I’m a Celeb’ lineup is full of all the usual suspects (ITV)
All hope is not lost, though. I’m a Celeb does have two joker cards to play: its presenters. Ant and Dec have fronted almost every single episode (McPartlin sat one series out due to personal issues, and was replaced with Holly Willoughby), and they’re at their funniest and best when lightly jibing the campmates, riffing in the live segments, and stifling laughter during the trials. Their brand is entirely different to the soft-spoken mystery of Claudia Winkleman, but it’s hard to imagine I’m a Celeb without its regular hosts.
What needs changing then isn’t the presenters, it’s everything else. If bosses want I’m a Celeb to have even a fraction of Celebrity Traitors’ cultural impact, they need to find a way to make jungle life more unpredictable.
Take the series premiere. It’s usuallya bloated offering (this week’s will clock in at a feature-length one hour and 35 minutes), which sees the celebs meet one another over flutes of champagne and gourmet party snacks. Ant and Dec will then arrive, and the group will be split into teams, or pairs, before taking on the first challenges while en route to the campsite. At least one of the campmates will scream every second, all but guaranteeing their place in the first Bushtucker Trial in the process. And somewhere near the end of the episode, they’ll reach their final destination, where a debate will ensue over who gets a bed and who draws the short straw with a hammock. It’s long, drawn out and wholly predictable, to say the least.
When it comes to Celebrity Traitors, almost every theory shared by fans did not come to fruition. The upper-class intellectuals were no smarter than the rest of us, real-world friendships stood for nothing – and no, Carr’s giggles didn’t lead to his downfall. It’s the unpredictability that makes for genuinely exciting viewing.
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Granted, ITV has thrown in twists in previous years – such as the celebs being split into separate encampments and the introduction of late arrivals – but those have been done so many times already that it’s just part of the show’s natural rhythm (which is exactly what’s happened with Love Island’s Casa Amor too).
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It’s hard to imagine any scene from the jungle evoking the same shock as ‘Celebrity Traitors’ (BBC)
Celebrity Traitors worked because it unsettled its cast and threw them into situations they couldn’t plan for, which is admittedly much easier when you’re on series one. But surely having seen the BBC’s huge success, I’m a Celeb bosses will be thinking a little harder about what might constitute a curveball. Ditching the formulaic structure of each day in camp would be a start. The Bushtucker Trials are arguably too integral to the programme to be messed with, but the “Dingo Dollars” excursions could surely be improved upon. The tasks themselves are easy, if time-consuming, and the only jeopardy comes when the campmates have to answer the question of the day.
And though recent I’m a Celeb viewing figures are nowhere near the previous highs, ITV gives each series so much prominence – and a hefty enough marketing budget – that it will always pull in a decent number of viewers. But perhaps these steady figures have contributed to the complacency. Maybe it’s time to introduce some Traitors-esque rivalries and pit the stars against each other more often. I’m a Celeb is supposed to be about survival after all.
‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ starts on Sunday 16 November at 9pm on ITV
