Ade Adepitan has already visited the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here camp, it has been revealed, as he becomes the first wheelchair user to take part in the programme.
The ITV reality show returns next week with Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly back as hosts. I'm A Celebrity 2026 kicks off on Monday night (November 16) at 9pm on ITV1 and on ITVX, the broadcaster's streaming platform. Alongside Ade, Wayne Rooney, Joanna Page, AJ Odud and Ricky Wilson have also been confirmed as heading Down Under this year.
Specially Modified Camp
I'm A Celebrity bosses invited Ade into the Australian jungle several months ago to help make a series of extraordinary changes to the camp. Producers spent a full day with the wheelchair basketball star and TV presenter earlier this year, testing how he would cope with the notoriously difficult terrain and working out what adaptations would be needed.
The result is a specially modified camp, with widened paths, strengthened handrails, wheelchair parking spaces, crutch holders and even a stairlift for the jungle shower. Executives have also confirmed that Ade will be able to tackle the majority of this year's approximately 23 Bushtucker Trials – including the famous Celebrity Cyclone, which is reserved for those who make it into the final four.
Preparations and Adaptations
The preparations began when producers decided they wanted Ade in this year's line-up and invited him Down Under for a recce in February. He was kept deliberately in the dark about the trials, or anything that has been planned for this series. Instead, executives wanted to learn more about his needs.
Ade, who contracted polio as a baby, uses both a wheelchair and crutches. His visit to camp earlier this year lasted just one day, but involved a detailed examination of the jungle site alongside safety experts and construction managers.
The changes recommended have since been carefully incorporated so as not to stand out. Paths have been widened to accommodate Ade's wheelchair, while steps have been altered to make it easier for him to move between the camp's different levels on crutches. Special parking spaces have been created so he can leave his wheelchair and switch to crutches whenever he wishes. Ade will also have the use of three wheelchairs in and around camp, along with three pairs of crutches left where needed. There will also be another wheelchair for the Trials and an electric wheelchair that can handle more difficult terrain, such as a beach.
Trials and Inclusion
The changes will extend beyond camp to the show's notorious Bushtucker Trials. Rather than automatically exempting Ade from challenges, producers have worked with him to modify individual elements, including adding extra handles and other equipment where necessary.
The team insist that the changes will not fundamentally alter the programme. "It will feel like the same show. It will be the same iconic show that we all know and love," the producer added. "They're just tweaks and adaptations that mean he's able to do them."
Despite the extensive preparations, producers say Ade will decide for himself how to navigate camp and where to sleep, including whether he wants to use a hammock. They also insist he was selected because of his personality, rather than a "tick-box exercise."
Ade, who won bronze with the men's wheelchair basketball team at the 2004 Paralympics, previously said of taking part in the show: "Words like 'honour' and 'privilege' are ones I feel, but I don't think they sum it up enough," he said. "For me, this is a moment in time. Even if I go out in the first week, I will always be remembered as the person in a wheelchair. I am slightly overwhelmed."
