As this year’s crop of “celebrities” are all adjusting to their new life in the jungle and trying not to shout those competition-ending words, “I’m a celebrity… get me out of here!” fans appear to have taken to social media to unanimously shout three words of their own, “Who is that!?”
“The show is called I’m A Celebrity, not guess who I am!” one viewer commented cheekily about this year’s supposed B-list-adjacent cast.
“Past participants of reality TV shows are not celebrities,” added another, apparently taking aim at Samantha Moitzi, who appeared in Married At First Sight in 2022, and Tina Provis, who starred on Love Island Australia in 2021.
One particularly observant fan noted that the lack of big names could have something to do with some cost-cutting over at Ten, saying, “Obviously, with all the budget cuts, this is all Ten could afford.
“May I remind you – quality is better than quantity.”
However, according to reports, the show was prepared to splash the cash, with a more high-profile participant, former Spice Girl Mel B, 49, set to the enter the jungle to the tune of $500,000. Yahoo Lifestyle says, however, she had to “pull out for personal reasons”, leading to TikTok star Max Balegde, 26, taking her spot.
NOT SO HAPPY CAMPERS
And while half a million may still be on the table for a headline-grabbing star, a different source says the big bucks are staying firmly in the kitty, and are most definitely not being used to provide any of the cast and crew any kind of luxuries.
“Ten doesn’t have the budget they once had and some of the long-standing crew have noticed that the 11th season is far from the ‘big-budget production’ it once was,” an insider told Daily Mail recently.
“The extras to keep the cast and crew happy during the filming of the annual series have all but dried up and I don’t think this is the dream job it once was.”
