It’s that time of year again when Ant and Dec reappear on our screens to torture a group of sweaty celebrities all for our entertainment, and the number one question I’m being asked whenever the show comes up in conversation is ‘Is it worth watching this year?’.
In short, I think yes. Here’s why.
In case you yourself have been living cut-off from the world and somehow don’t know what I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! is, then I’ll fill you in. In a nutshell, the reality show features a group of celebrities (sometimes that label is debatable) sent to the Australian Outback, cut-off from the world for three weeks during which they face tricky trials and challenges full of creepy crawlies in order to win food for camp.
In recent years, viewers have been underwhelmed by the show, arguing that it lacks the interest and drama that it used to have – to put it plainly, the celebrities have just been being too nice to each other and too good at the challenges! No one wants to watch a bunch of happy campers with full bellies.
But for me, this year’s series, which only started on Sunday the 19th of November, is already shaping up to be closer to the classic I’m A Celeb dynamic fans have been missing, full of conflict and forfeited Bushtucker Trials.
So far, we’ve had First Dates’ Fred Sirieix challenging the controversial campmate Nigel Farage over his responsibility for Brexit and its huge consequences for the British public, Youtuber Nella Rose becoming furious with Fred over a misjudged comment, and Made in Chelsea’s Sam Thompson basically just being the embodiment of golden retriever energy.
Over the coming episodes, I expect that tension will build as Nigel’s political motives begin to grate on the other celebrities, more trials are failed (the way the public inevitably vote for the biggest screamers is perhaps slightly sadistic), and disagreements result in the development of cliques. And of course, all this will only be amplified by twists and turns as yet unknown.
If all that sounds like your idea of entertainment, tune into ITV at 9pm everyday to I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Alternatively, watch on-demand via ITVX.