I'm A Celeb chaos as ITV star is asked to replace 'drop out' weeks before launch
The upcoming series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! has been hit by a last minute glitch weeks before the launch - with a huge star being asked to fly to Australia at the 11th hour to complete the line-up.
Promotion for the upcoming series has already begun with Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly readying themselves to jet off within days to start filming. Anticipation has already been building, with ITV viewers spotting 'Jungle Retreat' adverts cropping up on the television to plug the 2023 series. However, it appears bosses are scrabbling behind the scenes to get the contestant line-up in check, as it has emerged a star has become a recent drop out.
Speaking on This Morning today, Gyles Brandreth let slip he has been contacted by I'm A Celeb bosses this week asking him to pack his bags. The Gogglebox star, 75, said he had flatly refused the offer, but admitted he thought producers must be 'desperate' as it had been so last minute.
He revealed: "I was asked again this year. What is interesting is that they're obviously talking to people very last minute because I was asked again only this week. So maybe somebody dropped out and they were desperate. They drop you in and you walk a long that little bridge."
Gyles Brandreth revealed he was asked by ITV bosses to join I'm A Celebrity
Josie Gibson, pictured with Holly Willoughby, has been rumoured to be on the I'm A Celebrity line-up this year (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)However, at 75 Gyles wouldn't have been the oldest contestant that bosses have asked to appear on the show, as Arlene Philips was also asked - at the age of 78. The former Strictly Come Dancing judge starred in the 2021 series of the show that was relocated to Wales in the Covid pandemic.
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Gyles' fellow This Morning star Josie Gibson has also been rumoured to be on the upcoming series. It was reported she'd been banned from appearing on Strictly Come Dancing this year after being asked to free her up to star on ITV's reality series.
Other names linked to the show include Olivia Attwood - who was forced to pull out of the show last year - and former Prime Minister Liz Truss. Bosses are hoping for more fireworks in the jungle after Matt Hancock stole headlines last year as viewers were outraged by his appearance. The new series is now just weeks away with viewers going into meltdown last weekend over the first release of a ten second trailer of the new series.
Matt Hancock starred on I'm A Celebrity last year but the final was won by Lioness Jill Scott (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)A voiceover said: "Come away with us. Far, far away. The Jungle Retreat awaits" before the unmistakeable chimes of the I'm A Celeb music could be heard playing in the background. Ant and Dec also looked eager to get back to Australia as they both shared the advert to their social media pages. The reality show will be back in November this year, with a new line-up yet to be officially revealed. Each year, viewers tune in to the exciting series as a new batch of celebrity campmates face their worst nightmares in the Australian jungle, including being voted by the public to do a notorious Bushtucker trial.
The show sees celebrities endure tough challenges that can sometimes include frightening insects part. Some of the challenges include eating animal body parts in a bid to have a luxurious meal. Without successfully completing a task, losers return to camp empty-handed and have to survive on rice and beans along with their campmates.
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