I'm a Celebrity 2024: 'utterly bereft of new ideas'?

There wasn't much to enjoy about the opening episode of "I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here", said Guy Kelly in The Telegraph. "But we could at least laugh at all the ousted Tory MPs who must have assumed they'd be a shoo-in for a spot in camp."

From Matt Hancock to Nigel Farage, offering politicians an opportunity to "launder their dignity by eating anus under the glib supervision of Ant and Dec" has been the show's "go-to ploy" for years, said Kelly. The glaring absence of any such "Westminster-type" in the 2024 iteration felt like a "failure" by the producers.

Celebrities 'too nice'

In fact, there are no "glaringly obvious provocateurs" in the 2024 line-up. Instead it is "reality TV by numbers", said Katie Rosseinsky in The Independent: a Corrie star, a "Loose Women" panellist, a McFly band member... "Rinse and repeat."

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The biggest attraction is "surely Coleen Rooney" – the "typically private" wife of former England footballer Wayne Rooney – who has hit the headlines for her starring role in the "Wagatha Christie" libel trial. Her presence, it turns out, is an excuse for Ant and Dec to try out their best gags. Five minutes into the first episode, Dec jokes: "It'll be nice for Coleen to face a trial that doesn't involve Rebekah Vardy."

If anything, the celebrities this year seem "whisper it, too nice – which is great for their enjoyment levels, but, let's be honest, not so good for us viewers at home". Without the show's usual assortment of "tricky personalities" and potential for "intra-camp romance", it's unlikely to deliver the "twists and turns" audiences have come to expect.

'Physically tiring to watch'

As the theme song began, the "sweeping drone shots" of the jungle flashed on to the TV, and the "people off-camera who are literally paid to laugh at Ant and Dec's jokes (are they being dangled over the side of the walkway?) guffawed". The new series "felt physically tiring to watch", said Kelly in The Telegraph. "The whole thing is utterly bereft of new ideas."

Indeed, after more than two decades of the show, viewers know exactly what they're getting, said Rosseinsky in The Independent. The celebs must "feign surprise" when they hear helicopters approaching, hinting at the "inevitable skydiving challenge"; the welcome drinks are, of course, "blended bulls penis and fish eyes, garnished with cocktail umbrellas".

Perhaps Irish reality star Maura Higgins (who is rumoured to be making an appearance) will "bring some zip if and when she arrives", said Ed Power in The Irish Times. But so far "it's all a bit ho-hum".