I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (UK TV series)

Format

In return for their appearance on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, the celebrities are asked to nominate a charity to which the producers, ITV Studios, make donations. The celebrities themselves are also paid a fee to compensate them for possible loss of earnings while they are in the jungle. The producers of the show keep the precise details of the celebrities' contracts private, prompting much speculation from the media. The money is raised by allowing viewers to vote by phone, text message or the "red button" (a colloquialism popular in the UK for TV interactive services) for the celebrity they would like to complete a "Bushtucker Trial" — a physical task usually involving snakes, spiders or other creepy-crawlies found in the jungle — and, later in each series, to vote for the celebrity they would like to see win the show. The last remaining celebrity after all others have been evicted is declared the winner of the show, and is branded "King/Queen of the Jungle".

Bushtucker trial

Bushtucker trials are used in the show to allow the contestants to gain food and treats for camp. Bushtucker Trials take two formats: eating trials, or physical/mental tasks.

In the eating trials, contestants are required to eat a variety of different "jungle" foods. Each dish successfully eaten will gain the contestants one star, which equals one meal for camp (although the number of meals per star can vary). These trials generate the most viewer responses according to the ITV website. The foods that are required to be eaten can include: crickets (in a variety of forms, such as cooked into biscuits, blended into drinks or eaten alive or dead), green ants, mealworms, witchetty grub, roasted spider or tarantulas, kangaroo testicles, kangaroo penis, kangaroo vaginal parts, crocodile penis, cockroach (prepared in various ways such as being cooked into biscuits, blended into drinks, eaten alive or dead). Other past foods include beach worms, bull's tongues, the anus of various animals, vomit fruits, cooked pigs' brains, various animal testicles, raw fish eyes, sheep eyes, blended rats or mice tails.

The second type of challenge is more of a physical or mental task that requires the contestants to perform activities to gain stars. These can include searching through dung, going through tunnels, negotiating obstacles on high wires, or performing other tasks.

Dingo Dollar Challenge/Dingo Dimes

One way of camp can earn treats is by doing extra tasks in Bushtucker trials or in general. Dingo Dimes can be used in the vending machine in Croc Creek. Dingo Dimes only featured in the 2015 series.

Another way camp can earn treats is to do what is known as the "Dingo Dollar Challenge". This involves two or more celebrities going into the jungle to perform a task that releases an item to open a container with an amount of dingo dollars. Once that has been completed and the dollars have been retrieved, it is taken to a small woodshack shop, with shopkeeper 'Kiosk Keith'. They can exchange the dollars for a necessity such as a hammock or a treat such as chocolate chip cookies. Kiosk Keith calls camp and the celebrities then have a question usually relating to a celebrity or a piece of trivia. The "Celebrity Chest" was abandoned for the first time in the 2012 series, in favour of the Dingo Dollar Challenge, which involves the celebrities collecting 'dingo dollars' and subsequently answering a question correctly in order to win a treat for the camp, if they win they will receive their prize however if the celebrities get it wrong, Kiosk Keith takes the dingo dollars and shuts up shop, leaving nothing for the camp.

Formerly, 'The Celebrity Chest' had a question with a choice of answers, similar to the Dingo Dollar Challenge, the two celebrities who took part in the challenge would bring the chest back to camp and collaborate over the question with the other camp members. If correct, they would win a treat, if incorrect, they would be told what the treat was.

In Dingo Dollars if the camp members answer correctly they get a choice of two treats.

Filming location

The first series of the show was filmed on a smaller site at King Ranch, near Tully, Queensland, with the open air studio built beside a fast moving creek. Since the second series, the programme has been filmed in Springbrook National Park, near Murwillumbah, New South Wales, Australia.

Inside the entrance to the filming location is an open area allocated to buildings which accommodate on-site medical facilities, containers for the storage of props, and other back-stage facilities. Families and friends of the celebrities are housed here each morning during evictions. From this area, a restricted access road climbs to the site of the studios. The road then heads down into a valley via four-wheel drive access to the set of the show.

Some of these areas are viewable from Google Earth, although it is difficult to view the suspension bridges and open-air studio that Ant & Dec broadcast from. While the roof of the main building is bright red, when filming is out of season, this whole area is covered with hessian to obscure the aerial view. The creeks and camp areas are situated directly below the main suspension bridges. As they are so close to the celebrities, the crew have to be careful during filming to keep voices and music down. Many of the Bushtucker Trials are not performed here; in fact, some are performed well away from the area.

Once out of the jungle, the contestants stay at the five-star hotel Palazzo Versace Australia. The health and well-being of the celebrities and crew are looked after by medic Bob McCarron and his team from EMS. McCarron is also responsible for all of the creatures and food in the challenges.

Popularity and criticism

The finals of the second and third UK series were seen by 12.73 and 14.99 million people respectively — in both cases well over half of all people watching television in the country at the time.

The site in which the celebrities stay appears to be open to the elements, but is largely covered by sheets above the view of the cameras. In one episode, a celebrity had to swim in a swamp apparently infested with crocodiles. Marksmen were shown ready to shoot the animals if they attacked. In actuality, the area where this was filmed does not have crocodiles because it is too far south.

In Series 9 it was revealed that Katie Price was being paid almost four times as much as the other contestants, which sparked some criticism. It was also reported that, as a result, cash-strapped ITV were unable to provide any more money for the series, and that the quality of the trials had gone down.

Controversies

ITV apologised in 2006 after confusion over the instructions for telephone and red-button interactive voting led to allegations in the media that the wrong person had been evicted in the run-off vote in Series 6 between Toby Anstis and Dean Gaffney.

The show was forced to enhance its procedures after Ofcom found that after complaints, on 23 November 2006 episode, the show had breached Rule 1.16 of the Broadcasting Code for airing bad language before the watershed.

The 30 November 2006 episode was ruled to have breached Rule 2.2 of the Broadcasting Code after an investigation launched as part of the wider UK television public voting controversy. Due to late running, seven percent of phone and text votes for that episode of the show were not counted, although this did not affect the result.

Sarah Matravers blamed the show for the breakdown of her relationship with contestant Marc Bannerman after he flirted with Cerys Matthews in Series 7. Matthews and Bannerman later alleged the show footage had been edited by ITV to look like more than it was.

Former Sex Pistols manager, Malcolm McLaren, who was due to appear on Series 7 but pulled out at the last minute, alleged that the show and the choice of winner was fixed, and the trials posed no real danger. He alleged that show doctor told him that "'Things are so safe, I would send my own kids in to do the show'. There is nothing bad in there. They're hoodwinking the public".

ITV apologised in 2009 for not having properly advised the contestants in Series 9 of the relevant Australian legislation regarding animal cruelty. Gino D'Acampo and Stuart Manning were charged by New South Wales Police after RSPCA Australia complained over their killing and eating of a rat during the show.

In 2012, the decision by Nadine Dorries to enter the show was the source of criticism which led to her suspension from the Conservative Party due to allegations she did not seek permission from the party whip Andrew Mitchell which led to an inquiry by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

The fifteenth series saw Ferne McCann eat a live water spider as part of a bushtucker trial. Ofcom reportedly received 694 complaints from the public over allegations of 'animal cruelty for entertainment'. ITV also received a further 500 complaints. In January 2016, it was revealed no further action would be taken.

Series details

Winners are crowned King or Queen of their respective year. To date, there have been 10 Kings and 6 Queens of the Jungle.

Key:

     King of the Jungle      Queen of the Jungle

Main series results

The first three series of I'm a Celebrity occurred at various different times during the years they were broadcast. From series 4 onwards, the show is broadcast from around mid November until late November/early December.

Key

     Winner – King or Queen of the Jungle      Runner-up      Third place      Walked or withdrew      Late arrival

Series 1 (2002)

8 contestants, 25 August – 8 September 2002:

Series 2 (2003)

10 contestants, 28 April – 12 May 2003:

Series 3 (2004)

10 contestants, 26 January – 9 February 2004:

Series 4 (2004)

11 contestants, 21 November – 6 December 2004:

Series 5 (2005)

12 contestants, 20 November – 5 December 2005:

Series 6 (2006)

12 contestants, 13 November – 1 December 2006:

     Team Base Camp      Team Snake Rock

Series 7 (2007)

11 contestants, 12–30 November 2007:

     Team Croc Creek      Team Snake Rock      Entered after contestants were brought together

Series 8 (2008)

Series 8: Sunday 16 November – 5 December 2008:

     Home Camp      Away Camp      Entered after contestants were brought together.

Series 9 (2009)

Series 9: 15 November – 4 December 2009

     Base Camp      Camp Exile      Left before camp was split

Series 10 (2010)

I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! returned on 14 November 2010 at 9pm on ITV and ITV1 HD for its tenth series, as confirmed by presenters Ant and Dec at the end of the "Coming Out" show at the conclusion of series 9. This is the first series in HD. Series 10 is the only series to have 2 live trials.

Series 10: 14 November – 4 December 2010

     Camp Sheila      Camp Bruce      Entered after contestants were brought together

Series 11 (2011)

The eleventh series began on 13 November 2011. The official line-up was confirmed on 9 November 2011.

Series 11: 13 November – 3 December 2011

     Team Snake Rock      Team Croc Creek      Entered after contestants were brought together

Series 12 (2012)

The twelfth series began on 11 November and ended on 1 December 2012. The official line-up was revealed on 7 November 2012.

Series 12: 11 November – 1 December 2012

     Team Snake Rock      Team Croc Creek      Entered after contestants were brought together

Series 13 (2013)

The thirteenth series began airing on ITV on 17 November 2013. The first advert for the series aired on 21 October 2013. The line-up was confirmed on 13 November 2013.

Series 13: 17 November 2013 – 8 December 2013

     Team Snake Rock      Team Croc Creek      Entered after contestants were brought together

Series 14 (2014)

The show returned for its fourteenth series on 16 November 2014. On 15 October 2014, a teaser for the upcoming series was released on the official website. On 11 November, the full list of celebrities was confirmed by ITV. On 20 November, a further two campmates were confirmed to have joined the show.

Series 14: 16 November 2014 – 7 December 2014

     Team Croc Creek/Rescuer      Team Celebrity Slammer      Entered after contestants were brought together

Series 15 (2015)

The show returned on 15 November 2015 under a new three-year contract, as confirmed by Ant & Dec at the end of the Coming Out show on the 10 December 2014.

Series 15: 15 November 2015 - 6 December 2015

     Red Team (Leader: Tony Hadley)      Yellow Team (Leader: Susannah Constantine)      Entered after contestants were brought together

Series 16 (2016)

The show returned in 2016, and is the second in a three-year contract, as confirmed by Ant & Dec at the end of the Coming Out show on 9 December 2015. It began airing on 13 November 2016.

Series 17 (2017)

The show will return in 2017, and will be the third in a three-year contract, as confirmed by Ant & Dec at the end of the Coming Out show on 7 December 2016.

Series records and statistics

Biggest winning percentage: 83.42% – Gino D'Acampo (Series 9)

Closest winning percentage: 50.56% – Charlie Brooks (Series 12)

Longest stay in camp: 23 days – Carl "Foggy" Fogarty & Melanie Sykes (Series 14)

Shortest stay in camp: 1 day – Elaine Lordan (Series 5)

Most appearances: 2 series – Katie Price (Series 3 and Series 9)

Most bushtucker trials: 11 trials – Adam Thomas (Series 16)

Most consecutive bushtucker trials: 7 trials – Helen Flanagan (Series 12)

Most refused bushtucker trials: 2 trials – Lady Colin Campbell (Series 15)

Series ratings

Note for "Average rating": Since 2010 incl. HD viewers and since 2011 incl. "ITV +1" consumers.

I'm a Celebrity: Extra Camp

I'm a Celebrity: Extra Camp (previously I'm a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here! NOW!) is a companion show, broadcast on ITV2 in the UK and on 3e in the Republic of Ireland up to 2014. Since 2015 it has been shown in Ireland on UTV Ireland. It features behind-the-scenes footage of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and shows the emotional responses of the contestants after they have been voted off.

Series 1 to 4 was filmed completely live in the UK, series 5–8 were filmed mainly live in Australia with a live co-presenter in the UK. Since series 9, the show has been filmed completely live in Australia with occasional celebrity interviews based in London, shown through webcam.

History

In the first series, the show was presented by Irish TV presenter Louise Loughman. In series 2–3, the show was presented by Mark Durden-Smith and Tara Palmer-Tomkinson. In series 4, Palmer-Tomkinson was absent and Durden-Smith was the only host. For the fifth series, Palmer-Tomkinson returned to present the show. Durden-Smith did not, as he decided to spend time with his children instead. He was replaced by Matt Brown. Palmer-Tomkinson did not return for series 6.

In series 6, Brendon Burns initially presented the show, but left after three episodes. This led to Durden-Smith returning for the rest of the series, where he presented from the UK. He was joined by new presenters Kelly Osbourne and Jeff Brazier (briefly Steve Wilson before Brazier took over), who presented from the jungle in Australia. Also this series, a 5pm teatime programme, I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Exclusive, ran each weekday on ITV. It was co-hosted by series 5 runner-up Sheree Murphy and Phillip Schofield in 2006. It did not return for a second series.

For series 7–8, Matt Willis and his wife Emma took over from the previous hosts, Kelly Osbourne and Jeff Brazier, in Australia. Because they were having a child in early 2009, they did not return to present series 9. Durden-Smith also presented the show, from the UK, for the final time.

Series 9 to 10 saw new presenter Caroline Flack take over with roving reporter Joe Swash, email/people reporter Russell Kane, and a panel of celebrity pundits, which changed approximately every three to five days. For series 11, Flack left in order to present another ITV2 show, The Xtra Factor, and was replaced by Laura Whitmore. Swash and Kane both stayed on for the eleventh series.

On 16 June 2012, it was announced that Kane would not return to Get Me Out of Here! NOW!. He was replaced by stand-up comic Rob Beckett. All three presenters returned to present the thirteenth and fourteenth series of the show.

Due to tour commitments, Beckett did not return for Series 15. He was replaced by comedian David Morgan.

On 14 April 2016, Laura Whitmore stated that she would not be returning to the Jungle. On 31 May 2016 during an interview on Up Late with Rylan, Morgan confirmed that he would not be returning to the series due to other work commitments.

Presenters

Various TV presenters and comedians have hosted the show since it began in 2002, with Joe Swash having presented the most series, at eight.

Notes: