The series was 'one of the biggest entertainment shows of the year,' an ITV spokesperson said when confirming that cancellation news.
Campmates will not be returning to Kruger National Park for a second season of I'm A Celebrity South Africa. After just a single, which aired in celebration of the flagship show's 20th anniversary and was hosted by Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, ITV has canceled the popular All Star edition, despite big ratings and a star-studded cast.
"ITV have decided I'm A Celebrity South Africa will not return this year and there are currently no plans for another series," an insider told The Sun. "This will come as a disappointment to fans as Ant and Dec had previously hinted that it would be back and it was expected that it would be an annual thing."
Premiering in April 2023 with the premise being an All Star edition of the flagship British series, I'm A Celebrity South Africa brought back campmates including Helen Flanagan, Joe Swash, and Phil Tufnell for another epic adventure filmed in South Africa's Kruger National Park. Although a spinoff of the flagship series, the show did have some differences, mainly doing with the fact that it was pre-recorded, something that eliminated both public votes and audience interaction. Campmates' fates were instead determined by trials, with Season 6 runner-up Myleene Klass ultimately being crowned winner after defeating Season 16 campmate Jordan Banjo in the final survival trial.
The show did spark some upset among viewers over the formatting and voting changes, but it still managed to reel in massive numbers, averaging more than 5 million viewers per episode. However, confirming the cancellation, an ITV spokesperson indicated that the series was intended as a one-off show in celebration of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here's 20th anniversary.
"I'm A Celebrity... South Africa was commissioned to air in 2023 to celebrate favourite campmates from the past 20 years as they returned to the jungle," the spokesperson said. "The series was one of the biggest entertainment shows of the year averaging 5.2million across its consecutive weeknight run and reaching over one million 16-34s for the launch episode. It was never planned for the series to return again this year."
While I'm A Celebrity South Africa will not be returning in 2024, it seems hope is not completely lost. Both McPartlin and Donnelly previously hinted at returning for future seasons. The Sun's insider also said "it may well return in the future so it's not necessarily gone for good, but it definitely won't be happening this year and there is nothing set in stone for when it will be."
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