The reported 2026 line-up for I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! has leaked ahead of ITV's official release, and the BBC has been dealt what could be a hammer blow for Strictly Come Dancing.
This week, The Sun revealed the reported cast for the show, which returns in the autumn. Former England footballer Wayne Rooney, Gavin and Stacey star Joanna Page and Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson are among those gearing up to head Down Under for a stint in the jungle.
Big Names Set for the Jungle
Those names will be joined by TV presenter AJ Odudu, Coronation Street star Claire Sweeney, comedian Leigh Francis and broadcaster Mariella Frostrup. Also on the list are Love Islander Chloe Burrows, YouTube sensation Sharky, Paralympian Ade Adepitan, model Leomie Anderson and comedian Jack Skipper.
Compared to this year's Strictly Come Dancing cast, the I'm A Celeb camp is set to be filled with a stream of A-listers, including a woman who once reportedly dated George Clooney. It is a far cry from celebs like Will Best and Cach Mercer.
ITV's Commercial Success
The very fact that I'm A Celeb got a stand-out name like Rooney to join the jungle despite his £170million net worth is a testament to what celebs know the show can do for them. It can completely revive a career, revamp a soiled image, and pump new life into an old name.
I'm A Celeb has previously played host to stars like Caitlyn Jenner, Nigel Farage and Harry Redknapp. They wouldn't put their names to such a show if they were worried about what it might do to their image.
Strictly's Struggles
Then there is the growing list of stars who refuse to so much as touch Strictly with a bargepole. This year it would have been even trickier to get a big name to sign up, what with the format changes and host replacements. After the miserable ratings slump of this season, it is expected to be even more difficult in 2027.
ITV knows how to pull in the big names and achieve commercial success. While ITV has, along with the BBC, been forced to make cuts in recent months, it is still making a success of relying on advertising rather than implementing a licence fee in a Britain that's already strapped for cash.
The BBC provides a valuable service, but in a cost of living crisis, the question is whether the public really wants to be funding a load of C-list celebrities prancing about on a dance floor, or funding work-experience presenters like Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe while they stumble through reading off the autocue.
ITV proved it can do better than the BBC – maybe the publicly funded broadcaster needs to rethink its strategy.
