The wait is over...here's I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

The rumour mill has been working overtime in recent weeks. Well, it’s always the same whenever the latest run of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! is about to begin.

ITV does a decent job of keeping the identities of those taking part a secret, just letting out enough information to whip viewers into a frenzy. Nevertheless, few were surprised when Nigel Farage was revealed to be among this year’s line-up – after all, he’d been quoted some time ago as saying he was giving an offer to participate “very serious consideration.” He now claims he’s keen to show a different side to him.

He wouldn’t be the first political figure to enter the camp. The likes of Edwina Currie, Lembit Opik and Nadine Dorries have all featured, while former health secretary Matt Hancock came third last year.

Also set to spend their first night under the jungle skies this evening are critic and MasterChef regular Grace Dent, who you imagine won’t put up with any nonsense. She’s also criticised the show in the past, so it will be intriguing to see how she copes.

She’ll be lining up alongside Josie Gibson who, as a Big Brother winner, knows what it takes to do well in such a show, soap luminaries Danielle Harold and Nick Pickard, reality TV star Sam Thompson, Britney’s sister Jamie Lynn Spears, First Dates’ Fred Sirieix, social media influencer Nella Rose and singer/presenter Marvin Humes.

Ant and Dec are taking control of the proceedings once again – and let’s face it, their boundless enthusiasm and one-liners can be the most entertaining part of the entire programme; ITV knows it’s onto a winner with the duo because they can lift any flagging production and turn the mundane into quality entertainment – that’s perhaps why, in January, it was revealed they’d signed another three-year deal with the media giant, whose bosses clearly recognise their importance to the station.

Completing the negotiations seemed like the ideal way to celebrate Ant and Dec’s 25th anniversary at ITV too.

“We’re so lucky to host the best entertainment shows in the world,” said Ant at the time. “We absolutely love our shows and we are both extremely happy and very excited to extend our relationship with ITV for another three years.”

Dec jokingly chipped in by saying: “We can’t believe we are reaching 25 years exclusively with ITV. Especially as we are both only turning 30 this year!”

Kevin Lygo, managing director for media and entertainment at ITV, added: “The world of television and streaming is always a much brighter place with Ant and Dec at the centre of it.”

The deal means we can expect to see the duo front more episodes of Limitless Win, Britain’s Got Talent and, of course, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

So, what else do we know about the new run of the latter? Well, we’re not expecting any big changes – little has changed format-wise since the debut series back in 2002. What is for certain is that the Bushtucker Trials will continue to send shivers down our spines and upset the stomachs of those taking part – and long may that continue.