Film & TV Writer Manjit Bhatoe looks at the latest season of I’m a Celeb, exploring how the show is targeting younger audiences and the impact of its lineup announcement leaks
The 2025 I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! lineup was revealed back in November. The campmates consisting of presenters Kelly Brook, Alex Scott, Eddie Kadi, and both late campmates, Vogue Williams and Tom Read Wilson. There were also a couple of music artists, rapper Aitch and former Spandau Ballet member Martin Kemp. Then there were the customary soap actors Shona McGarthy of Eastenders and Lisa Riley of Emmerdale. This left US comedian Ruby Wax, streamer Angry Ginge and son of the late Ozzy Osbourne, Jack Osbourne. This cast seems to follow the usual I’m a Celeb line up of TV stars, athletes, musicians and presenters.
However, it does seem that I’m a Celeb has recently been trying to reach younger, perhaps more online, audiences.
However, it does seem that I’m a Celeb has recently been trying to reach younger, perhaps more online, audiences. Their additions of online personalities seem to have started in 2023, with social media personality Nella Rose. Despite Rose being dubbed the season’s villain due to her disagreements with campmates Fred Sirieix and Nigel Farage, making her the second celebrity voted out by the public, she managed to highlight the differences between generations. ITV seems to have liked this, as the next year they cast TikToker, podcast host and Loose Women presenter GK Barry, who placed fifth in her season.
Which now brings us to this year, where Twitch streamer Angry Ginge, aka Morgan Burtwhistle, has been cast as a campmate. Ginge even seems to be doing very well in the jungle, as he is still in the camp and could very well make it to the final and possibly place in the top three.
The Sun actually leaked the 2025 I’m a Celeb lineup prior to ITV getting the chance to confirm it themselves. This most likely made the final lineup somewhat anticlimactic for fans who read the leaked lists, as it took away the big reveal experience. Leaks for long term I’m a Celeb fans are probably equivalent to when a new season of a show you like comes out, but you see a major spoiler on social media before getting to that plot line in the show, which probably makes you less eager to finish the show as quickly.
This most likely made the final lineup somewhat anticlimactic for fans who read the leaked lists, as it took away the big reveal experience.
However, this probably does not have the same sort of impact for reality shows on a wider basis, as lineup leaks are not necessarily major spoilers for a show. Perhaps it was beneficial for the show, as it created word of mouth promotion before ITV’s official lineup was revealed, as many other news outlets followed up on the leaks, further boosting I’m a Celeb before it had even been confirmed by ITV themselves. So, leaks are probably a good thing for reality TV as long as they stay minor, with things like cast leaks, rather than more major ones like elimination leaks, which could push audiences away from watching the show, as there is no big climax to watch for.
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