I'm a Celebrity 2023 launch: Nigel Farage and Nella Rose voted by public to face first eating trial

It's that time of year again… I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! is back on our screens for another series of stomach-churning Bushtucker trials, dramatic fallouts and heartwarming friendships as a fresh batch of celebrity contestants make themselves at home in the jungle for the next few weeks. 

Ant and Dec will, of course, return to host the programme and will no doubt keep us all entertained with their witty commentary on life in camp. 

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As always, the celebrities will swap their home comforts for a life under the stars in the Australian jungle, where they'll take part in a series of Bushtucker trials and challenges in order to collect stars in exchange for food. 

The campmates will be voted out of the jungle as the series goes on before three celebrities make it to the grand final. But who will be crowned this year's king or queen of the jungle?

The 2023 line-up is certainly an impressive one, featuring popstars, presenters and one controversial former politician. 

Actress and singer Jamie Lynn Spears, former politician Nigel Farage, JLS singer Marvin Humes, Made in Chelsea star Sam Thompson, This Morning host Josie Gibson and First Dates presenter Fred Sirieix are among the celebrities taking part this year. 

Rounding out the current line-up are Youtuber Nella Rose, food critic Grace Dent, EastEnders actor Danielle Harold and Hollyoaks star Nick Pickard. 

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The celebrities reportedly take home a generous fee for taking part in the show.

In previous seasons, contestants have been expected to make upwards of £30,000, but this amount varies with each contestant depending on how famous they are. 

Nigel Farage recently revealed that he'd been offered "quite a substantial sum of money" to head into the jungle. 

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That iconic jungle theme tune really is music to my ears. Let's go!

In an I'm a Celeb first, Josie Gibson, Nella Rose and Nigel Farage have been dropped in the scorching Australian outback!

The first contestant to arrive is This Morning's Josie, who says she's "not keen" on rats or creepy-crawlies. I'd keep that to yourself if I were you, Josie!

Nigel Farage reckons he's got what it takes to thrive in the jungle after dealing "with snakes in the European Parliament". 

Only time will tell...

With Nella's arrival, the trio have been tasked with their first challenge. 

They must win time for the campmates who are taking part in other challenges 2000 miles away back on the Gold Coast.

Let's see what's in store...

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Sam Thompson, Danielle Harold, Fred Sirieix and Grace Dent are the first celebs to take a ride in I'm a Celeb's iconic choppers.

They've been flown to the top of a building 100m off of the ground on the Gold Coast, where they will descend a ladder down the side. The amount of time they have to do the challenge depends on how well Josie, Nigel and Nella get on. 

Like Ant, said they've been thrown in at the deep end this year. Let's hope they're not afraid of heights!

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The trio must find the tokens in order to win time for their fellow campates, with each token buying one minute. 

Josie is taking one for the team, offering to dunk her head into barrels to find the tokens, leaving Nigel and Nella to push their heads inside the hell holes and use their tongues to move tokens along a metal wire. 

This one looks tricky!

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Does Nella have a fear of snakes by any chance? It's safe to say the Youtube star struggled with that challenge, and despite her best efforts, she didn't manage to get any tokens off of the wire. 

Thankfully, Nigel and Josie got all three of theirs, earning six tokens for the other campmates. Well done team!

FIND OUT: I'm a Celebrity star Nigel Farage's private home life with wife and four children

Four stars are up for grabs this time. 

Danielle, Fred, Sam and Grace must make their way over the edge of the building in pairs and head for their poles. To win stars, the celebs must lie face down on the pole and shimmy themselves and their star all the way to the end. When the star is in the yellow zone, they've won it. 

Don't look down, guys!

That was a close call! While Fred got his star to the yellow zone in plenty of time, Danielle managed to complete the challenge with just two seconds to spare. 

That's two stars in the bag!

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While Sam might have unlocked a new fear of heights, it didn't stop him from getting his star. 

Both him and Grace managed to move their stars to the yellow zone despite the wind and rain - and they couldn't be happier. Well done team!

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Marvin Humes, Nick Pickard and Jamie Lynn Spears are taking on the iconic skydive for a dramatic entry into camp before taking on the first Bushtucker trial of the series.

And Marvin is afraid of heights… Uh oh.

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All three celebs managed to take the plunge and skydive out of the plane. 

Marvin was particularly pleased. "Wow. I can’t believe it, we’ve done it," he said. "I never wanted to do it and I’ve done it. To conquer that fear of heights! I think my kids will be super proud." 

Now, bring on the Bushtucker trial!

After coming across another abandoned truck, Josie, Nigel and Nella learned that they must win more tokens to earn time for their campmates. 

While Nigel and Nella opted to search through a trunk full of gunk, Josie looked for tokens under the bonnet and in the glove box, with some snakes slithering around. 

The trio earned seven tokens this time around, which means seven minutes for their campmates. Well done, guys!

Marvin, Nick and Jamie Lynn are taking on the first Bushtucker Trial of the series, Temple of Doom.

As Dec explained, the game sees Jamie Lynn and Marvin strapped into two perspex boxes on either side of the Temple. They must take it in turns to find jungle-related words on the rotating discs beside them. 

Meanwhile, Nick will be strapped to a stone table in the centre, and when Jamie and Marvin find a word, they shout it out. If the word is correct, a star will lower and Nick must retrieve it using his mouth and drop it on the table. 

Of course, they won't be alone, with green ants joining Jamie Lynn and Marvin, whilst Nick will be covered in spiders, mealworms and other critters.

The producers certainly aren't letting the celebs ease into the challenges this year, are they? Let's see how they get on…

It's safe to say, Nick, Marvin and Jamie Lynn smashed the first Bushtucker trial of 2023, winning six stars. What a great team!

Now off they go into camp. 

With the trial and challenges complete, the celebrities headed into camp for a well-deserved rest. 

Sam, Fred, Grace and Danielle were the first campmates to arrive and the Masterchef star was quick to admit that a small part of her thought she was coming into a "really rubbish Centre Parcs".

I'm afraid not Grace...

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Nigel was one of the last celebrities to arrive in camp, and it's safe to say Sam Thompson was surprised to see him.

"You just don't see that coming! I am living in a camp with Nigel Farage," the reality star said in The Bush Telegraph.

Meanwhile, the campmates were treated to kangaroo for their first meal. 

Unsurprisingly, Nigel Farage has been voted to take part in tomorrow night's challenge, The Jungle Pizzeria, alongside Nella Rose. 

I have a feeling this is the first of many challenges Nigel will be facing this series...

Tune in tomorrow night so see how they get on!

That's a wrap on the I'm a Celebrity 2023 launch!

Thanks for joining us!