I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! is a British reality TV series in which a number of celebrities live together in a jungle environment for a number of weeks, competing to be crowned "King" or "Queen of the Jungle".
The show was originally created in the United Kingdom by the factual programmes department of ITV’s then London franchise, London Weekend Television and developed by a team including James Allen, Natalka Znak, Brent Baker and Stewart Morris. The first episode aired on 25 August 2002 hosted by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, also known as Ant and Dec. It is now produced by ITV Studios and has been licensed globally to countries including the United States, Germany, France, Hungary, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Romania, Australia and India.
Filming location
The UK, German and the 2003 US versions of the series take place in Dungay Creek, New South Wales, Australia, at a permanently-built up camp in Dungay near Murwillumbah. However the first UK series of the show was filmed on a smaller site at King Ranch, near Tully, Queensland, in Australia.The Australian series is filmed in Blyde River Canyon near Hoedspruit and Kruger National Park, in South Africa.
Other versions of the show have been filmed in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Suriname, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Criticism
This series has been criticised by Tessa Jowell, at the time the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. In an interview with the Financial Times during the second UK series, she said, "If they weren't mostly – save their blushes – has-been celebrities, there might be more interest... I think that if we saw many more programming hours taken over by reality TV, I hope you'd begin to see a viewers' revolt."In 2002, CBS, broadcaster of the popular American reality show Survivor, unsuccessfully sued ABC and Granada TV over a planned American version of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, alleging similarities.
The show's use of live insects and other living creatures in the bushtucker trials has led to some public criticism of the show and its producers and those involved in the programming. This issue was highlighted during the 2009 UK series, where celebrity chef Gino D'Acampo killed, cooked and ate a rat. The RSPCA Australia investigated the incident and sought to prosecute D'Acampo and actor Stuart Manning for animal cruelty after this episode of the show was aired. ITV was fined but the two celebrities involved were not prosecuted for animal cruelty despite being charged with the offence by the New South Wales Police. This incident did, however, highlight among certain groups such as Buglife, a British charity for the conservation of insects, and the RSPCA, the controversy surrounding the killing of living creatures for human entertainment.
There has been criticism that the producers pretend that the celebrities have to live in "dangerous" jungle even though they are in a controlled environment, with some of the scenery being artificial, e.g. a pond and a small waterfall.
In November 2014, TV presenter Chris Packham wrote an open letter to Ant & Dec asking them and ITV to end the "abuse of animals" in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. He described the trials as "out of date" and "silly". Packham again requested that the programme end its perceived animal abuse on stage during the 2019 TV Choice Awards, whilst imploring celebrities and those in the television industry to be more conscious of the environment.
International versions
| Country | Local title | Filming location | Network | Winners | Presenters |
| Australia | I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! | Kruger National Park, South Africa | Network Ten |
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| Denmark | Jeg Er En Celebrity… Få Mig Væk Herfra! | Kruger National Park, South Africa | TV3 |
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| France | Je suis une célébrité, sortez-moi de là ! |
| TF1 |
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| Germany | Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus! | Dungay, New South Wales, Australia | RTL |
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| Hungary | Celeb vagyok... ments ki innen! |
| RTL Klub |
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| India | Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao | Taman Negara, Malaysia | Sony |
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| Netherlands | Ik Ben Een Ster, Haal Me Hier Uit! | Suriname | RTL 5 |
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| Romania | Sunt celebru, scoate-mă de aici! | Kruger National Park, South Africa | Pro TV |
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| Sweden | Kändisdjungeln | Taman Negara, Malaysia | TV4 |
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| United Kingdom | I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! |
| ITV |
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| United States | I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! |
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