It first aired in the UK in 2002, and this week I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! will return for its 24th series – a frankly astonishing feat in the fickle world of reality TV. Its decades-long tenure has even overtaken some of the biggest shows that launched that same year, including Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeway. It seems the British public simply love to watch relatively minor celebrities suffer in a jungle. Or a ruined castle. Anywhere uncomfortable.

The new series marks a welcome return to the classic I’m A Celeb format, with a new cast of celebs – including Wagatha Christie herself Coleen Rooney, former Strictly pro Oti Mabuse, McFly’s Danny Jones, N-Dubz singer Tulisa and former boxer Barry McGuigan – camping in a remote rainforest in New South Wales, Australia.

And viewers are in for an extra treat this year, as the series’ presenting duo Ant and Dec swap their jungle jackets for lab coats to put the infamous Bushtucker Trials to the ultimate test. Plus, reigning King of the Jungle Sam Thompson and his pals Joel Dommett and DJ Kemi Rodgers are dissecting everything that’s happening in camp in ITV2’s brand new spin-off I’m A Celebrity… Unpacked.

Don’t miss the start of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! on Sunday 17 November on ITV1 HD (CH 103) and Apps > ITVX. To get us all in the mood, we thought we’d look back at some of the most entertaining and appalling Bushtucker Trials in I’m A Celeb history. Prepare to laugh and/or feel extremely grossed out…

Marvin Humes and Nick Pickard ride the Critter Mixer (Series 23, 2023)

Bushtucker Trials are stomach-churning at the best of times. But Marvin Humes and Nick Pickard were put to the ultimate test with this dizzying trial. Every time camp comrade Tony Bellew answered a question correctly (while being slimed with fish guts), Marvin and Nick were tasked with finding a star for camp. The catch? They were strapped into a rotating cage as creepy crawlies assaulted them from all angles. We’re getting queasy just thinking about it…

Every Gillian McKeith Bushtucker Trial ever (Series 10, 2010)

Oh Gillian McKeith, what were you doing on I’m A Celebrity? From smuggling in “spicy knicker” contraband to that faint on live telly, her stint was so dramatic that comedian Rob J Madin even penned a then viral song about it. That wasn’t the end for Jungle Gill though, as she signed up for the I’m A Celeb All-Stars spin-off and even made peace with former camp enemy Shaun Ryder (you know, the Happy Mondays frontman who got bitten by a snake). Good times…

Danny Miller, Simon Gregson, Frankie Bridge and David Ginola Vs The Celebrity Cyclone (Series 21, 2021)

It’s the moment that we all wait for every series: the Celebrity Cyclone. A highlight for any I’m A Celeb fan, the ultimate Bushtucker Trial requires four willing partipants in neon Lycra superhero outfits to carry giant foam stars up a slippery slope, as they’re pelted by gushing water, strong winds and those giant plastic balls. And the 21st series marked an I’m A Celeb first when former footballer David Ginola had to be pushed uphill by all his team-mates, much to the amusement of Ant and Dec.

Jill Scott reaches dizzying new heights (Series 22, 2022)

Former Lioness Jill Scott stole the nation’s hearts when she was crowned Queen of the Jungle in 2022. And one of her most endearing moments came from her Critty Critty Fang Fang trial, with Jill suspended mid-air in a magical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car. And the football legend collected a full set of stars in style, as she tackled fish guts, cockroaches and giant mealworms while wearing a replica of Sally Ann Howes’ dress from the beloved flick.

Ant and Dec get a taste of their own medicine (Series 20, 2020)

After relishing the sight of scores of celebrities crying, screaming and projectile-vomiting their way through Bushtucker Trials, the tables turned for I’m A Celeb’s presenters in 2020. To mark the 20th series, the cheeky chaps put themselves through three Bushtucker Trials including a revolting three-course critter meal. Not for the faint of heart, the duo’s squeamish reactions and laughter at each other’s misery kept us giggling all the way through.  

Vernon Kay is effectively tortured (Series 20, 2020)

Multiple I’m A Celeb contestants have described entering the jungle and/or winning the show as “a dream come true”, but the experience often seems more like a nightmare. This was particularly true for series 20, in which contestants set up camp in a dank and spooky Welsh castle. TV presenter Vernon Kay was shackled to the “Table of Torment”, which resembled a medieval torture rack, and covered in buckets of rotten fruit and veg, maggots, cockroaches and scorpions. Nothing short of horrific.

Ferne McCann scoffs a live spider (Series 15, 2015)

I’m A Celebrity has attracted criticism for animal cruelty over the years, thanks to the producers’ attachment to getting contestants to eat live creepy-crawlies (a feature that was dropped from the show in 2019). That change unfortunately came too late for The Only Way Is Essex star Ferne McCann, who in 2015 was tasked with eating a live water spider. Even if her bushtucker trial hadn’t prompted more than 500 complaints to Ofcom, it would still be memorable for just how stomach-turning it was.

Emily Atack and Malique Thompson-Dwyer get the X factor (Series 18, 2018)

One of the funniest bushtucker trials of all time saw actors Emily Atack and Malique Thompson-Dwyer take part in a live challenge inspired by another ITV reality show: The X Factor. With their lips wedged apart by mouthguards, the two actors stood in perspex Xs filled with stinging ants and tried to sing songs by past X Factor contestants coherently enough for other campers to identify them. Watching someone sing with a mouthguard in will always be hilarious; watching someone sing with a mouthguard in while sporadically screaming is enough to induce tears of laughter.

Alex Best gets feathered (Series 3, 2004)

Tarring and feathering was a favourite method of torture and public humiliaition in feudal Europe. Poor Alex Best didn’t get tarred in series 3 of I’m A Celebrity, but she did end up resoundingly feathered. First she crawled through tanks filled with eels, mealworms, cockroaches and spiders, a revolting experience that left her covered in wet, sticky goo. She then had to enter a fourth tank of snowy-white turkey feathers, emerging looking like a strange mythical bird-woman. The next step was a tank of snakes, but ophiophobic Alex sat that part out. One of the most-viewed Bushtucker Trials on YouTube ever.

John Barrowman eats a bull’s penis (Series 18, 2018)

It’s impressive when contestants chomp down their bushtucker amuse-bouches with grim-faced stoicism, but it’s much more fun when they make a fuss about it. Doctor Who actor John Barrowman put on a show as he chomped down goat's eyes, a dead spider and a bull’s penis in series 18, throwing sarky asides at temporary host Holly Willoughby, screaming that things tasted “LIKE SH*T!” and generally writhing around like a man possessed by an angry demon. Good stuff. 

Katie Price and Neil Ruddock fill their faces with critters (Series 3, 2004)

Glamour model Katie Price was already approaching the peak of a certain genre of celebrity in 2004: still best known as Jordan, she’d been the subject of three Channel 4 documentaries and was famous enough to guest on Top Gear and enjoy cameos in Footballers' Wives. But it was her appearance on I’m A Celeb that propelled her into real high-wattage stardom, thanks to her romance with Peter Andre. Notoriously tenacious, she remained impressively steady as she and retired footballer Neil “Razor” Ruddock had their faces covered with stick insects, cockroaches, pythons and more.

Mo Farah is knocked over by rotten tomatoes (Series 20, 2020)

Sir Mo is known for his physical stamina and almost regal dignity, rather than his knack for slapstick comedy – which is why you might have gasp-laughed at the sight of him being physically knocked to the ground by a bucket of rancid tommies in series 20. Gibbering with fear as he reached into “hell holes” containing fish guts, lizards, rats and more, the ultra-competitive Olympic gold medallist was disappointed to only pick up nine stars out of 12 in his first Bushtucker Trial – even though that meant a solid nine meals for the camp.

Gino D’Acampo dons a spider helmet (Series 9, 2009)

The Bushtucker Trials may be silly but they can offer intriguing glimpses into the different ways fear can manifest. Series 9 winner Gino D’Acampo had admitted that spiders were his “worst thing” – so, of course, he was tasked with wearing a transparent helmet that was gradually filled with scuttling arachnids. Despite his fellow camper Sam Fox begging him to close his eyes, Gino kept them wide open behind his protective goggles, hopping from foot to foot and clutching his hands together like a small boy in need of a wee.

David Haye gets bitten by a bandicoot (Series 12, 2012)

David Haye’s Bushtucker Trial was another that offered a fascinating insight into how different people handle fear. The retired world champion boxer was almost unnervingly calm as he descended into the “Well of Hell”, sticking his hand blithely into a hole full of sharp-pincered yabbies and cheerfully saying “Hello!” He was equally casual about coming into contact with scorpions, snakes and cockroaches – even shrugging off a bite from a bandicoot. If your former career involved regularly getting punched in the head, perhaps a Bushtucker Trial seems tame by comparison.

Scarlett Moffatt chases ostriches (Series 16, 2016)

More laugh-out-loud material was provided in series 16 by the endlessly charming Scarlett Moffatt, who was tasked with removing four bird ornaments from the neck of one ostrich and placing them around the neck of another. The trial was made funnier by Moffatt’s glorious comic timing (there’s a reason the former Gogglebox star was able to leverage her role in that series into a broader TV career) and the fact that she was also wearing a comedy ostrich costume. If watching Scarlett the ostrich chasing George the ostrich around a pen doesn’t make you smile, we suspect nothing will.

When is series 24 of ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! on TV?

The new series starts at 9pm on Sunday 17 November on ITV HD (CH 103) and will be followed by I’m A Celebrity… Unpacked on ITV2 HD (CH 115). All episodes will also be available in Apps > ITVX.