The 17 all-time best I'm a Celebrity campers, ranked
There's a reason I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! is one of the best shows on telly: the cast.
ITV consistently does a flawless job of recruiting the most entertaining celebs in the business, guaranteed to deliver drama, laughs and suspense.
And it has to be said, we're really impressed with this year's line-up. From what we've seen so far, each and every one of them has potential to make the jungle hall of fame. But what qualities make a great camper?
Here, we reveal our 17 all-time favourite I'm a Celeb stars to date, ranked in order of ascending awesomeness. We make no apology for being totally subjective.
17. Dougie Poynter, 2011
Dougie makes the list because he was just so much fun in the jungle.
He took on every Bushtucker Trial that came his way, made us all laugh and his bromance with Mark Wright was just adorable (what happened to that friendship by the way?).
The McFly star went on to win the series – and it was very well deserved.
16. Mark Wright, 2011
When Mark quit TOWIE, we weren't sure we'd hear from him again. But then, just a few months later, he went into the jungle.
During his stint Down Under, Mark completely changed the public's perception of him. He went from Essex playboy to reality TV sweetheart in just a few weeks. In fact, we loved him so much he finished up in second place, losing out only to BFF Dougie.
Thanks to his popularity on the show, Mark went on to carve out a presenting career for himself, and went on to land jobs on Surprise Surprise and Take Me Out: The Gossip – and he's currently working on a project in America with E! Entertainment. Not bad, eh?
15. Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, 2002
Given her privileged upbringing and social status, few thought Tara would want to get her hands dirty and dive into a Bushtucker Trial to win food for her co-stars. But she did! Not only that but she absolutely smashed it.
The public ended up developing a serious soft spot for the socialite, which helped cement her TV career. She went on to secure gigs on Top of the Pops, Comic Relief and the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
Sadly, Tara passed away earlier this year.
14. Christopher Biggins, 2007
Biggins absolutely smashed his series of IAC.
As the oldest celebrity that year, he was an underdog, and nobody expected him to nail the Bushtucker Trials the way that he did.
He went on to be crowned Jungle King that year after the public fell in love with him.
Unfortunately, things went quickly south when he took part in Celebrity Big Brother a few years later.
13. Joey Essex, 2013
We'll never forget Joey's stint on IAC. Not because of any particular great achievement, but because that's when the nation discovered he couldn't tell the time.
As the series unfolded, the confessions about his general knowledge got worse and worse – yet somehow, Amy Willerton fell for his charms and the pair ended up dating.
However, the relationship didn't last. Probably because he must have kept turning up late for dates.
12. Myleene Klass, 2006
Myleene is the woman behind one of the most iconic IAC moments ever.
When she stripped down to her white bikini and showered underneath a waterfall, pretty much every bloke in the country fell a little bit in love with her. Perhaps every woman too. She got lots of votes, anwyay.
She was pretty good at the Bushtucker Trials too, and ended up finishing the series in second place, losing out to Matt Willis.
Don't worry Myleene, you'll always be our winner.
11. Vicky Pattinson, 2015
Vicky was so awesome on IAC, she actually won her series.
What tops off her triumph is the fact that she was a complete underdog. At the time, she was known as the wild child of Geordie Shore, and it's fair to say many people didn't have the highest opinion of her.
But she showed her true colours on the show and won over the nation. Now she's a best-selling author, a presenter and has established herself as one heck of an entrepreneur. Well done, Vick!
10. Peter Andre, 2004
We'd totally forgotten Peter existed before he signed up for IAC. But after entering the jungle he made sure that never happened again.
During his time on the show, Peter kept fans glued to their screens as his romance with Katie Price unfolded.
He also used the series to debut his new single 'Insania'. We might not have bought the CD at the time, but we still remember the tune. "Do Do Do Do Do" – come on, you know the words!
9. Martin Roberts, 2016
Let's face, it was a pretty dull series last year. Everyone got along, there was no conflict, no drama and every Bushtucker Trial was passed with ease.
The only camper that made the show remotely entertaining was eccentric Martin, which is why he makes our list.
He must have been quite annoying to live with in the jungle. Even Dec had a pop at him. But he was fun to watch on TV as he unintentionally irritated everyone in camp, especially the not-so-subtle Larry Lamb.
8. Antony Worrall Thompson, 2003
We're going quite some years back here, but in 2003, Antony temporarily became king of the jungle. Well, leader of the jungle.
Fed up with living on rations and the conditions of camp, he rallied up his co-stars and convinced everyone to go on strike. The entire cast threatened to walk out and bring the series to an abrupt end – unless a producer agreed to let Antony speak to his agent.
TV gold!
7. Stacey Solomon, 2010
After failing to win The X Factor in 2009, Stacey was back on our screens a year later to take part in IAC.
She was up against some huge personalities in the jungle including Alison Hammond, Shaun Ryder and Gillian McKeith. Stacey came out on top, however, and managed to win the series.
We had to include her on our list because she was just so freaking lovely. And who could forget that epic moment she threw a rock in Dom Joly's face? Brilliant.
6. Paul Burrell, 2004
Paul makes this end of the list purely because of his facial expressions during Bushtucker Trials. He was absolutely hilarious.
Can you imagine the drama that must have gone down at Kensington Palace if Princess Diana ever asked him to get rid of a spider? Lol.
5. Kerry Katona, 2004
Kerry became a reality TV national treasure back in 2004 when she won IAC.
Nobody expected much when she went into the jungle, but she walked out with a crown, a lucrative sponsorship deal with Iceland and a very proud hubby in the form of Brian McFadden.
Unfortunately, Kerry's ride on cloud nine didn't last as long as everyone thought it would after the series finished. But at least we've got the memories.
4. Helen Flanagan, 2012
Helen was so naive – much like Amir Khan this series.
She admitted after she was eliminated that she didn't expect IAC to be quite so difficult. The Corrie star actually believed she'd be left to her own devices; to strut around in a bikini all day and make a few famous friends.
So she got the shock of life when reality dawned on her – and it made for brilliant telly.
The poor girl was traumatised by some of the Bushtucker Trials. But hats off to Helen for giving it a go – most of the time, anyway.
3. Gemma Collins, 2014
The GC is near the top of our list for all the wrong reasons.
She might not have won many meals for camp, but she really brought the entertainment factor. From freaking out in the helicopter before she even arrived in the jungle to melodramatically telling her co-stars she might have malaria, the TOWIE star had us in stitches from start to finish.
Please bring her back, ITV.
2. Katie Price (2004)
The Pricey was already famous, but she became a household name after her stint in the jungle.
Before jetting Down Under, she was simply known to the public as Jordan the glamour model. But IAC transformed her into Katie Price, the nation's sweetheart of 2004.
In between facing Bushtucker Trials and living on rations, she met and fell in love with Peter Andre. The pair then went on to become the country's king and queen of reality TV – and we loved every minute of it. While it lasted.
1. Lady Colin Campbell (2015)
A tad controversial, but how could Lady C not top our list?
Okay, she wasn't exactly Miss Popular among her co-stars at the time, but she was hilarious.
Who would've thought a 68-year-old socialite could spit one-liners harsh enough to give Eminem a run for his money? "You are so full of shit that if you ever took an enema you would disappear off the face of the earth without trace," and, "You arch-hypocrite, a chippy oik with the brains of a pea and the mouth of diarrhoea," are just some of the insults she dished out to her fellow campers.
Lady C, we salute you!
I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! is on ITV, daily at 9pm.
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