I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! returns to its rightful jungle home in Australia at long last
They might have enticed the show’s first ever royal to take part in I’m a Celebrity….Get Me Out of Here! but there’s one thing ITV bosses can’t control – the weather.
ne can only imagine the panic that must have set in a few days ago when the Australian camp was shut down for 24 hours due to severe flooding.
New South Wales, where the popular series is filmed, was badly hit by heavy rain and the site was temporarily closed as a “precautionary measure”.
The elements played a part in a significant ratings drop last year when I’m a Celebrity was filmed at Gwrych Castle in Abergele, north Wales, due to the pandemic.
When Storm Arwen led to the show being taken off the air for three nights, viewers didn’t tune back in when it eventually returned.
The 2020 show – the first to be filmed in Wales – was watched by an average of 11.05 million, compared to around 6.37 million last year – and that was prior to the great storm switch-off.
Location is key for the success of the show and the return to its original Australian home is likely to draw the audiences back in.
I initially seem to have been in the minority, enjoying the more intimate feel of the Welsh format.
Perhaps it was the coldness of the castle that brought the camp-mates closer together, but that series, which saw Giovanna Fletcher crowned queen, seemed less stormy than previous years.
Against the backdrop of Covid misery, the happy campers brought some much-needed joy and light relief to our screens.
The novelty soon wore off, though. Arwen mightn’t have battered the castle too much, but those few days off air certainly damaged ratings.
Enough of the freezing clink, friendly atmosphere and thermals. Viewers want sunshine, stomach-turning Bushtucker trials and skimpy shorts.
More importantly, we want drama, tittle-tattle and tension – and things always get heated in the jungle.
One of the first contestants to be unveiled as part of this year’s line-up is rugby player Mike Tindall. This is a massive coup for the producers of the show, as he’s the first royal ever to head into camp.
The husband of Zara Phillips, grand-daughter of the late Queen, should make for interesting television.
He’s done reality TV before – Mission Survive with Bear Grylls and The Jump – but I’m a Celebrity reaches a much bigger audience. And if he’s crowned king, he’ll get to have his very own coronation.
Speaking of coronations, soap legend Sue Cleaver, who plays Eileen Grimshaw in Corrie, is jungle-bound too, along with radio veteran Chris Moyles and Boy George.
It’s also rumoured that Strictly ‘love rat’ Seann Walsh is heading in. Let’s vote him to do all the rodent-based challenges.
The powers that be at ITV will be keeping their fingers crossed that the torrential rains that have flooded New South Wales subside in time for the return of the show.
With any luck, the only stormy action this year will be around the campfire. Bring it on.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! launches on ITV on November 6 at 9pm
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