I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! roared back onto screens for its 25th anniversary series with a launch episode packed with chaos, critters and gut-churning trials—before the celebrities even reached camp.
Ant McPartlin, 49, and Declan Donnelly, 50, welcomed this year’s line-up into the Australian jungle, immediately throwing them into a fish-gut-filled challenge that left Kelly Brook, 45, covered head-to-toe in slime and already tipped by viewers as the early winner. One fan wrote: “It’s early days… but I want Kelly Brook to win.”
Ruby Wax, 72, and TikTok firebrand AngryGinge, 24, were promptly voted into the first Bushtucker Trial after viewers decided their squeamish reactions deserved further punishment.
A frosty reunion that… wasn’t
Kelly’s entrance came with added anticipation due to her famously bitter 2009 fallout with Ant and Dec. She once said ITV bosses told her she had “upset Ant and Dec” after her short-lived Britain’s Got Talent judging stint. But as she prepared to jump out of a helicopter, she grinned at the camera and shouted: “Ant and Dec, I’m coming for you!”—showing no hint of tension.
After parachuting onto the beach, Kelly, Shona McGarty, Aitch, Martin Kemp and Eddie Kadi faced dizzying heights, slippery puzzles and piles of offal as they scrambled for the two precious seats in the luxury getaway car—complete with cocktails, canapés, plush beds, and steak for dinner. Aitch and Eddie nabbed the win, while Jack Osbourne and AngryGinge secured their own luxury ride after winning a bolt-unscrewing challenge.
The Cockie Van from hell
The rest—including Kelly, Ruby, Shona, Alex Scott and Lisa Riley—were packed into the grimy “cockie van,” swarmed with cockroaches and crawling critters.
Alex shrieked, “They’re all down my bloody bra!” while Kelly yelled, “Oh my god, they’re biting my t***!”
Ruby even joked flirtatiously about driver Kiosk Kev, saying, “I’ll straddle him!”
Their efforts earned six stars—but resulted in a stomach-turning emu neck dinner. Ruby grimaced: “It was repulsive. For six stars we should have got a burger.”
A new series, new dramas
Fans were divided over the rebooted opening title sequence, with many complaining: “They changed the opening titles?!” and “Not sure about the new sequence.”
Meanwhile Kelly—reportedly receiving £80,000, far lower than the rumoured £300k—was convinced to join the show by husband Jeremy Parisi, despite once insisting she’d “rather work in her local pub” than eat jungle testicles. She previously said: “Even if I had a huge tax bill… I still wouldn’t do it.”
But now she’s in the jungle, she’s covered in fish guts—and fans already think she’s the woman to beat.
