What Year Did I'm A Celeb Start And Who Was On The Original Line Up?
14 November 2023, 09:33 | Updated: 14 November 2023, 13:04
I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! has become a winter television staple, but when did we first start seeing celebs eating creepy crawlies on our TVs?
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The celebrity contestant show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here will be back on screens on November 19th for it's 23rd season. Before we dive into another series of bush tucker trials and bizarre meals let's indulge in some reality TV nostalgia.
Musical duo turned presenting legends Ant & Dec have been hosting the show since it's very first debut back in 2002. Apart from a small period when Ant was unwell, they have been side by side entertaining I'm A Celeb viewers since day one.
- Read more: When Does I'm A Celeb Start? Date Confirmed For 2023
- Read more: Every 'I'm A Celebrity' Winner From 2001 To 2022
The very first episode of I'm A Celeb aired on ITV on 25 August 2002, which may surprise newer fans as the show now aires in the later months of the year. By the fourth series they had started broadcasting from mid-November, and apart from an All Stars spin-off in 2023, the series has since started mid-November and ended in December.
Filmed in New South Wales, Australia, I'm A Celeb sees a group of celebrities face the Aussie jungle. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, during 2020 and 2021 filming instead took place in a castle setting in Abergele, North Wales.
Well-known figures such as Katie Price, Gino D'Acampo, Caitlyn Jenner and Roman Kemp have been on the show, and the likes of Marvin Humes and Nigel Farage are set to go on in 2023, but who was on the original line up?
Who was on I'm A Celeb series one?
The very first series only have 8 contestants and they were:
- Tony Blackburn - Radio presenter
- Tara Palmer-Tomkinson - Socialite and TV presenter
- Christine Hamilton - TV personality and author
- Nell McAndrew - Glamour model
- Rhona Cameron - Comedian
- Darren Day - Actor and singer
- Nigel Benn - Former middleweight boxer
- Uri Geller - Television paranormalist
Tony Blackburn won that first ever series and Uri Geller was the first to be eliminated.
How many series of I'm A Celeb has there been?
The show has been airing for 21 years. Not including I'm A Celebrity... South Africa, which aired in 2023 featuring past I'm A Celeb contestants, there have been 22 series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! which makes the November 2023 series the 23rd.
Starting in 2002, the show has made 22 series by 2023 by having two shows in one year. Back in 2004, when they trailed their first winter showing, they had two series as they filmed in January and November.
Listen live to Capital, and catch up on any shows you missed, on Global Player.
