The I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! contestants faced one of the show’s most infamous issues this week when contraband was sniffed out in the camp. Bringing in items against the rules used to be an annual occurrence, but with more and more well-behaved campmates, the tradition has been rather lacking in recent series (aside from last year’s teabag-gate).
It’s a shame, because you never know what surprises may crop up, and it’s always great fun to watch the celebrities come clean — as well as the reactions of their peers, and the added bonus of relating to their naughty choices.
Let’s face it, the I’m a Celebrity format can be rather repetitive at times, from those Bushtucker trials (fish eyes, anyone?) to the often questionable dinner menu (no octopus for us, thanks!). But contraband is always unpredictable, and is the perfect instigator for drama without too much angst.
Take recent events, for example. Everyone was suitably shocked over Shona and Alex’s “crime”, but the energy was playful as the pair headed off to retrieve their secret stashes.
Camp King Aitch then graciously pointed out that Shona’s air freshener and Alex’s salt sachets were smuggled in for the good of the group, before cheekily adding that if anyone was planning to break the rules, they should be better at staying under the radar!
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In 2011, several cast members dug out their contraband when called out, leading Lorraine Chase to gently say it had to be handed over “otherwise you might go to prison”. We’re laughing at the memory, but in fairness to the actress, we can bet that some of the punishments dished out on I’m a Celebrity might as well feel like jail to those at its mercy!
And remember back in 2013, when Amy Willerton’s chewing gum was flagged after she gave some to Joey Essex? Having just earned meals for camp, Emmerdale star Lucy Pargeter was understandably miffed by the threat that these would be reduced unless everything was handed in.
Amy hadn’t exactly gone the extra mile to fairly share out the gum, and this instalment of “contraband-gate” was the gift that kept on giving when her bikini and make-up supply continued to pose a risk to everyone’s dinner, leaving eventual King of the Jungle Kian Egan a tad irked.
Although the deceit involved has caused some unrest, even when that has been the case, the beauty is that disagreements over contraband are merely a product of circumstances and not a result of any personal clashes.
One of the more recent instances of smuggling came from 2021 alumnus Naughty Boy, who stored some masala spices in his sock to add to the “bland” rice and beans.
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After he asked those at the top if he could use the ingredient, he was refused – but Richard Madeley praised his attempt as a good mark of his character, and we couldn’t help but enjoy Naughty Boy’s blunt assessment of the food on offer.
From Gillian McKeith bringing herbs and spices in her knickers, to Kim Woodburn’s sunglasses and Jimmy Osmond using a teddy bear to smuggle in off-limit supplies, contraband provides pure entertainment. And while the main show has been quiet on that front until now, it was at least a welcome presence during I’m a Celebrity… South Africa.
Gillian earned a delightful mix of applause, dramatic questioning and disbelief when, this time around, she presented stock cubes and seaweed in her undergarments.
With every trick in the book seemingly used by now, it could be argued that the test of the forbidden item has run its course. But celebrities have got away with it for decades without resorting to such outrageous hiding places, and human nature tells us that whatever the motive, contraband is just too great a temptation to resist.
We’re not usually ones to encourage violating I’m a Celebrity’s protocol, but we can’t be the only viewers who revel in such an organic display of jungle antics.
I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
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