It can’t be denied that “I’m a Celeb” is a family favourite: a childhood excuse for staying up late, and a national sign that the festive season is beginning. As the show starts its 25th season this month, we start to wonder if the concept will work again; or if it’s starting to get boring.
Over the years, the show has invited some controversial figures, especially those involved in UK politics. The most standout contestants in this category have been Nigel Farage, Matt Hancock and Stanley Johnson. Their controversial and official nature essentially provide more commotion and gossip within the jungle, as fellow contestants berate them with questions, and in some cases attempt to expose any wrongdoings within their political careers. This commonly causes disputes between groups of contestants: which in real life wouldn’t be ideal, but on a reality show- this is gold.
However, in this year’s season, the contestants so far do not appeal to have any controversial lifestyle or career that can be judged and gossiped about. The one contestant with potential to do this is Jack Osbourne who is appearing to be reserved early on in the season, especially after the recent passing of his father Ozzy Osbourne. Although all contestants getting on in the jungle sounds like a good thing, the potential lack of drama and controversy could drastically impact on the viewership of the show, especially amongst a young adult demographic. If it’s just people sitting around chatting, and doing the same bush-tucker trials that they have for years, the show definitely starts to lose its appeal to some.
However, one of the elements of the show that keep the audience engaged is the voting system. Viewers can initially vote for which celebrity takes on a bush-tucker trial and later in the season, can vote for who leaves the jungle that day. There is one issue with that for this year: the rules surrounding voting and bush-tucker trials have been amended for 2025. This change states that no celebrity can take on any more than two bush-tucker trials in a row. This is to avoid situations such as the last season, where DJ Dean McCullough undertook seven bush-tucker trials in a row. This change intends to give a more balanced amount of screen-time for each contestant, and also avoid celebrities losing the motivation to win stars for the camp after completing so many consecutive trials.
However, doesn’t this mean the public voters lose their voice if the majority does decide to have a certain contestant do a third trial in a row? The main selling point of this show is that the public can decide exactly what happens- and that’s not going to be entirely true this year.
On the subject of the bush-tucker trials themselves, every year they follow the same format. Every time a new trial is announced, it is just a slightly different iteration of an eating trial, enclosed space with critters or a more physical activity. After 25 years, haven’t we seen this enough? The only way these trials continue to be entertaining for the viewers is when the celebrity taking on the trial shows some form of personality: whether that be comedy or true fear. If we do not get that this season, then the show definitely may start losing appeal to the majority of its viewers, especially with the less well known line up of celebrities they have so far this season.
Image Credits – The Movie DB
