Gemma Collins has returned to the jungle for the new series (Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! has been a staple in the Express showbiz team's calendar for years - and so has the All Stars version since it launched on ITV in 2022. This year's All Stars series, which landed on screens at the start of the week with Geordie duo Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly returning as hosts, features TOWIE's Gemma Collins, former footballer Jimmy Bullard and even Olympian Sir Mo Farah, to name a few.
As the celebrities continue to settle into camp in the South African bush and endure disgusting Bushtucker Trials while viewers watch on in horror, a number of Daily Express Showbiz reporters have given their honest verdicts on the series so far...
The All Stars version of the ITV show is filmed in South Africa (Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! definitely worked back in the early 2000s, during the height of British reality television and celebrity culture. However, the programme, which was once arguably the jewel in ITV's crown, has completely lost its sparkle - and this year's All Stars series just reeks of desperation.
Your career has got to be at an all-time low to agree to go on the programme for a second time - and you cannot tell me otherwise. Why on earth would you share a bug-filled camp with a group of strangers and eat animals' private parts for Bushtucker Trials if your career is flourishing?
I feel sorry for the celebrities who have been persuaded to take part - and no amount of money would entice me into humiliating myself on television for ITV viewers' entertainment. The show feels extremely dated, and hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly should step down before more viewers switch off and they become a laughing stock.
I have been the biggest fan of I'm A Celeb for as long as I can remember. No matter where I am or what I'm doing, I never miss a series. So, obviously, when All Stars arrived in 2023, I was buzzing.
But it didn't take long for me to realise that it was never going to live up to the original. There's something about knowing the campmates aren't there in real time and that Ant and Dec aren't presenting live that doesn't sit right with me. Still, I committed to watching it, and I felt the same when this year's edition of All Stars rolled around.
I'm slightly ashamed to admit that I only managed the first 20 minutes of the opening episode. Not because I wasn't enjoying it, but because other things got in the way. But now, I've realised I don't have the urge to switch it back on.
In fairness, I have seen clips of what's to come, like Gemma Collins attempting to down 30 shots of blended bull's heart and blood, and I know that's something I'll take great pleasure in watching.
I have full faith that once I find the time to sit down and watch it properly, my favourite TV show will deliver, and I will be hooked for the next two and a bit weeks
I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here is usually one of the most engaging shows on TV. Well known faces taken out of their natural cushy habitat and put through torturous trials makes for compelling viewing. Except when it comes to the all stars version
Unlike the regular edition, which contains a live element and viewer voting, this is pre-recorded. And boy does it show. Knowing they are not competing for popularity with the viewers means the returning celebrities are far more laid back and less outrageous than the first time we saw them on screens.
They're also far more knowing - they have already survived gruesome trials and lived off rice and beans the first time around. They have come prepared and there is definitely less of an edge to them. These two facts combined make for truly dreary viewing. I've had more entertaining dentist appointments. The whole thing is far too measured and carefully edited.
A show like this needs the live element in order to succeed. Viewers like to know they might catch a rogue moment live on air. This is more polished and less dangerous and by default incredibly boring.
