Well, it’s back on our screens yet again, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Outta Here! has returned to ITV for its 13th (that’s right, 13th!) series. The rumour mill went into overdrive this year as speculation grew over who would be entering the jungle this year. Big names were thrown around; MP and former Shadow Cabinet Health Minister Diane Abbot, football legend Paul Gascoigne (a.k.a Gazza), even the Kardashians were said to be giving up their glamorous lifestyle for a few weeks in the jungle. And then the line up was announced and … well, were we the only ones left feeling a bit disappointed?
This year’s round up of ‘celebrities’ fits the same pattern we’ve come to expect over the years. Some names were complete blanks, David Emanuel and Annabel Giles; there’s your usual soap stars, Lucy Pargeter and Laila Morse; boy band member, Kian Egan; reality TV star, Joey Essex; and of course, that one Page 3 girl who only seems to have brought a bikini and seems to need a shower under the waterfall every five minutes, Amy Willerton. Admittedly, eyebrows were raised over Olympian gold medallist Rebecca Adlington’s decision to go into the jungle; for a legitimate sportswoman, it still seems an odd decision. But, for once, we’ll admit, I’m A Celebrity got something right with Alfonso Ribeiro … oh who are we kidding! Carlton! Carlton from Fresh Prince of Bel Air was going into the jungle!
Now we’re well into this year’s series and it doesn’t really feel like we’re watching anything new. Celebrities eating weird and disgusting animal parts; spats over the cooking or the cleaning or beds in camp; the sexual tension that builds between one couple in camp, only for them to be separated when one of them inevitably gets voted out; and of course, the emotional breakdown of normally not one but several celebs who just can’t live without their daily moisturiser. But we’ve seen it all before!
Photo Credits: www.independent.co.uk, www.radiotimes.com,
So why do we keep tuning in, year after year, week after week? Is there some sadistic side of our personalities that enjoys watching ‘celebrities’ face mild torture? Is it the cheeky chappy Geordie appeal of the presenting pair Ant and Dec? Or is it simply because there’s nothing else on? This question, I think, will always remain unanswerable. So we might as well pop the popcorn, crack out the ice cream and just tune in!