I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! series 23 kicked off in style, Sunday 19th November 2023. Ten celebrities have ditched their creature comforts for camp critters and tackling life in the Australian bush.
This year’s celebrities are Actress & Singer Jamie Lynn Spears, TV personality and Radio DJ Sam Thompson, This Morning host Josie Gibson, TV presenter Fred Sirieix, YouTuber Nella Rose, GB News host and ex politician Nigel Farage, Food Critic Grace Dent, Pop star and TV presenter Marvin Humes, EastEnders star Danielle Harold and Hollyoaks Icon Nick Pickard.
JOSIE, NELLA AND NIGEL MET IN THE SCORCHING OUTBACK
In a first for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! three celebrities were dropped into the scorching Australian Outback to complete a series of challenges.
First Josie and Nigel met.
Josie admitted: “I thought this was a good idea until they dropped us off in the middle of nowhere. I’ve never been so petrified.”
Nigel replied: “It’s something different in life, it’s an adventure! It’s a challenge, it’s not going to be easy, but why not?”
Josie quipped: “It can’t be worse than Brexit!”
Nigel laughed: “Oh… didn’t take long did it? Didn’t take long. I had a feeling we’d get a bit of that!”
Laughing too Josie said: “Only joking…”
The pair were then met by Nella before they noticed there was a button to call for assistance, which dialled through to hosts Ant and Dec.
Dec said: “Welcome to the Australian Outback. For now, it’s just the three of you. Your fellow celebrities are 2,000 miles away on the Gold Coast.”
Ant added: “The other celebrities will be trying to win stars for the first meal in camp. However, how much time they have to do that will be down to you three. You’ll now take on challenges to win tokens, the more tokens you win, the more time they’ll have.”
Getting into a jeep to make their way to their first challenge, Nigel opted to drive, before asking: “Where’s the handbrake?”
Nella reacted: “What do you mean where’s the handbrake? We’re finished!”
Nella and Josie screamed as he sped away through the dusty Outback.
SAM, DANIELLE, GRACE AND FRED FACED THEIR FEARS 100M UP
Meanwhile, on the Gold Coast celebrities Sam, Danielle, Grace and Fred were flown by helicopter to the top of a building 100m off of the ground.
Hosts Ant and Dec flew to greet them. Ant said as he waved to the campmates: “They don’t know what they’ve let themselves in for, do they? That looks high!”
Dec replied: “It does, doesn’t it!”
When they arrived Fred was quick to cut the chit chat.
Fred asked the duo of the apparatus over the edge of the building: “What’s this?”
Dec laughed: “You’ve noticed it?”
Fred asked: “Stop the small talk, what’s this??”
Ant said: “This year, we’re throwing you all in at the deep end. There’s no last minute champagne reception!”
He added: “The amount of time you have to do this challenge is not down to us.”
Dec continued: “No, for the first time ever, three of your fellow celebrities have already started their journey, deep in the Australian Outback. They’re facing challenges to win you time. The better they do, the more time you’ll have.”
JOSIE IS DUNKED AND NIGEL AND NELLA FACED HELL HOLES
Back in The Outback, the original trio had found their first challenge, which required two people to put their heads in hell holes and one person to dunk their head into barrels to find tokens.
Josie opted for the barrels saying: “I’ll take one for the team, I’ll take the barrels. I don’t mind sticking my head in things that don’t belong…”
Nigel and Nella meanwhile needed to push their heads inside the hell holes and use their tongues to move tokens along a metal wire.
Nigel said: “We just do it and we can move on to the next challenge.”
But as soon as Nella put her head in she saw there were also snakes inside and started screaming.
Despite her best efforts, Nella couldn’t get any of the tokens off of the metal wire, but Nigel and Josie managed to get all three of theirs, earning six tokens for the campmates taking on Pole Position.
DANIELLE AND FRED, SAM AND GRACE COMPLETED POLE POSITION
Danielle, Fred, Sam and Grace learned their campmates had earned them six minutes – three minutes per pair – to complete their Pole Position challenge. Four stars were up for grabs, which counted towards that night’s dinner in camp.
Ant explained the eye-watering heights challenge: “In pairs, you’ve got to make your way over the edge of the building, down the ladders, along the narrow ledge, until you come to your pole. In order to win stars, you’ve got to lie face down on the pole and shimmy yourself and your star all the way to the end of the pole. When the star is in the yellow zone, you’ve won that star.”
Fred admitted: “You know the rule, don’t look down. I wasn’t built for heights. My daughter is a champion diver, but I don’t know where she gets it from. Definitely not from me!”
As Danielle raced ahead of Fred, Ant said: “She wasn’t waiting for Fred!”
Fred wailed: “Why did I sign to do this??”
But despite his reservations, Fred was first to get his star to the yellow zone on the pole. He moaned: “Agh, my balls!”
Danielle laughed: “We’ll get you some new ones in the jungle!”
In a nail-biting finale, Danielle completed the challenge with just two seconds to spare, earning them two stars.
Grace and Sam were next as the wind picked up and the rain started.
As Sam began he confessed: “Oh my god, don’t look down! I’m scared of heights, I didn’t even know I was scared of heights!”
Ant laughed: “What a time to find out!”
Both Sam and Grace completed it, earning them the full 4/4 stars.
MARVIN, JAMIE LYNN AND NICK TACKLED THE SKYDIVE
Having just met for the first time Marvin, Jamie Lynn and Nick learned they would have to face a skydive before heading off to do the very first Trial of the series.
Nick confessed: “I had no idea when I woke up this morning I’d be skydiving with Britney Spears’s sister. I mean, come on… I don’t think she’s looking forward to it too much. I think she’s a bit apprehensive, as is Marvin.”
Marvin added: “100% skydiving is the worst thing you could throw at me. I’ll be thinking about my children and my wife the whole time…. Fingers crossed it’s all going to be alright.”
Jamie Lynn quipped: “What’s the worst that could happen? Just kidding, a lot of really bad things could happen…”
Marvin admitted: “I am going to be terrified, petrified… all of the ‘ifieds.’”
But despite their nerves, there was jubilation once they’d each done it.
Jamie Lynn, who jumped first, was thrilled as she said: “I was living out my childhood dreams of being a fairy and flying around – honestly, it was so cool!”
Arriving back on the ground, Nick kissed the floor: “Hell mate, mwah!”
Thrilled he managed to jump, Marvin said: “Un-bloody-believable mate. That makes you feel alive. I was scared about nothing. Wow. I can’t believe it, we’ve done it. I never wanted to do it and I’ve done it. To conquer that fear of heights! I think my kids will be super proud.”
THE OUTBACK STARS BATTLED TO WIN TIME FOR THE TRIAL TRIO
While Marvin, Nick and Jamie Lynn made their way to the Trial, Nigel, Nella and Josie faced another challenge to earn them time.
Finding another busted and burnt-out truck in The Outback, two of them had to sit in thick gunk in the bed of the truck while searching for tokens tied up on bits of rope. Meanwhile the other had to search for tokens hidden under the bonnet and in the glove box, with some snakes in there, too.
Nella admitted: “This is not the glamorous jungle entrance that I wanted.”
Nella opted to go for the gunk in the back with Nigel. This time proved more successful for Nella who found all three tokens. Meanwhile Nigel found two and Josie earned two despite saying of the snakes: “They’re looking at me like they want to bite me!”
In total this earned their fellow campmates seven minutes for The Temple of Doom.
STARS FACED THE TEMPLE OF DOOM TRIAL
Still buoyed up from their skydive, Nick, Marvin and Jamie Lynn met Ant and Dec for the debut Bushtucker Trial of the series.
Ant explained: “The amount of time you have to do this Trial isn’t down to us. You see, over 2000 miles away, in the middle of Australia, right in The Outback, other celebrities have been taking on challenges to win you time. Out of a possible nine minutes, they’ve won you…. seven minutes!”
Marvin said: “That’s decent!”
Dec then explained the gameplay: “Two of you are going to be strapped into two perspex boxes, either side of the Temple. You’ll take it in turns to find jungle related words on the rotating discs beside you. When you’ve got a word you shout it out. If it’s correct a star will lower above the third celebrity who is strapped to a stone table in the centre. To win the star they will take it off using only their mouth and drop it on the table beside them. Then it’s over to the other celebrity in the other perspex box.”
Opting to be in the boxes Marvin and Jamie Lynn soon found they had green ants for company, while Nick struggled to release the stars with his mouth while covered in spiders and other critters.
However, successfully finding words including ‘tree’, the trio won the remaining six stars so headed into camp to share the good news they had a 10/10 dinner heading their way.
ALL CAMPMATES MET IN CAMP
Fresh from their Trial and challenges all of the campmates started making their way into camp.
Fred and Sam were quick to get the fire going. And as Grace took in her surroundings, she admitted: “There was a small part of me that actually did think that I was coming to a really rubbish Centre Parcs…”
Danielle was starstruck, admitting: “It’s just mad, I’m with Britney Spears’s sister. I used to watch Zoey 101 when I come home from school. So it was a bit weird, a bit random.”
Jamie Lynn said of meeting everyone: “Everyone so far has made a wonderful impression on me. I’m the only American here. Everyone’s been really kind and really nice. I’m really impressed. Maybe I’m being really naive.”
When Nella met Marvin she excitedly gushed: “Big fan! Squeeze me tight! It’s happening!”
In the Bush Telegraph Sam said of seeing Nigel Farage enter: “You just don’t see that coming. I’m living in a camp with Nigel Farage… You know when someone’s got their trousers hitched up real high, I was like, yeah, fair play mate…”
Fred took charge of cooking their meal and said: “I love to cook. At home I’m in charge of pleasure. It’s going to be the same here.”
Meanwhile, Josie asked Jamie Lynn: “Who got you into music then?”
Jamie Lynn said: “I’ve always kind of been into music, you know what I mean?”
Josie asked: “Very musical family, aren’t you?”
Jamie Lynn replied: “Yeah.”
Josie said: “Was your grandma into it?”
Jamie Lynn replied: “My mum played the piano a lot.”
Asked what she does, Josie said: “I’m a TV presenter.”
Jamie Lynn said: “That’s awesome.”
Josie added: “I work on this show called This Morning. It’s so fun, it’s so good. Fred, do you know who Fred is? He’s a restaurateur. Ever watched First Dates? It’s brilliant.”
Josie joked to Fred: “Find me a hot man.”
Fred replied: “You need a hot man?”
Josie said: “I don’t need one.”
Fred added: “Anyone single in here? Anybody single?”
Josie laughed: “Fred, I’m not desperate!”
Josie continued to Jamie Lynn: “Nigel, do you know who Nigel is? Nigel is an MP.”
Jamie Lynn asked: “What’s that mean?”
Josie said: “He’s an ex-politician.”
Fred then presented the camp with a ‘jungle paella’.
I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! continues Monday at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX
