Jungle reality show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! opened with its own presidential election tonight, inviting viewers to vote for a camp president and vice president.
Fans of the show have been asked to use the ITV programme’s app to select a celebrity to have the first go at being the boss of the camp, choosing how to dish out chores among their fellow contestants.
As presenters Ant and Dec explained the vote, Dec said: “Don’t worry, they haven’t got any nuclear codes and they’re not going to build a wall between the camp and the rest of Australia.”
Sunday night was the debut episode in the 16th series of the programme, which saw mathematician Carol Vorderman, Diversity dancer Jordan Banjo, Emmerdale actor Adam Thomas, comedian Joel Dommett, dancer Ola Jordan, Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt, actor Larry Lamb, ex-footballer Wayne Bridge, radio presenter Lisa Snowdon and Olympic hockey player Sam Quek enter the jungle.
Carol, Jordan, Adam, Joel and Ola were asked to choose a celebrity from the remaining five to be paired with before they met in person, with each half of every celebrity couple then trying to do well enough in a challenge to win their partner immunity from the first Bushtucker Trial.
The five pickers were made to walk a plank suspended 334 feet in the air from the roof of a Gold Coast hotel and try to estimate as close to 60 seconds as possible while standing at the end of it.
Unsurprisingly, maths whiz Carol won and said: “It would have been very embarrassing if I didn’t get the closest to 60 seconds, really embarrassing.”
Meanwhile, Lisa, Wayne and Sam jumped out of a plane with the aim of skydiving as close as possible to a marker on the ground, while Larry and Scarlett had to canoe into the jungle and hoist a flag as quickly as possible.
Scarlett struggled with the task as her canoe sank, leaving her clinging to a raft in the water as Larry dove back in to get her.
She said: “He’s not like your average 70-year-old, he’s super human. I’ve had to be saved by Larry Lamb because I can’t swim, I’ll never live this down.”
Scarlett had earlier left her camp mates in stitches as they watched her video introduction as she said – contemplating whether she would go through with the challenges – “But I said I’d never try quinoa and I did.”
On meeting Ant and Dec, she made reference to their early career presenting SMTV and said: “I can’t believe I’m meeting you in person, [SMTV game] Wonky Donkey was the highlight of my week growing up.”
Celebrity pairs Jordan and Scarlett, and Ola and Sam, ended up failing each other and all going through to the first Bushtucker Trial.
Carol, paired with Lisa, Adam with Larry, and Joel with Wayne all saved each other from the challenge.
Ant and Dec ended the episode by revealing that the first Bushtucker Trial will be the Tomb Of Torment, where the contestants will have to lie down inside cramped tombs along with 120,000 rats, mealworms, spiders, crickets and cockroaches – the most critters ever to be used in one of the show’s tasks.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! continues on Monday night on ITV at 9pm.
