I'm A Celebrity hosts respond to backlash amid Raygun casting speculation

The upcoming eleventh season of I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! is one week away from premiering, but fans are already convinced they know who’s in the cast. From a stand-up comedian and award-winning actress to a TV host and spicy reality star, viewers have been deciphering clues over the past few weeks trying to work out the celebrities’ identities.

The first participant teased back in November was a Headline-Grabbing Olympian who “loves freestyle”, with many people immediately predicting that Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn is heading into the jungle. While some fans expressed excitement over the controversial Olympic breaker potentially returning to screens, others said they would be “boycotting” the series if she’s a part of the cast.

RELATED:

• I'm A Celebrity 2025: All the stars rumoured to be heading into the jungle

• Robert Irwin shocks fans with hidden talent in I'm A Celebrity 2025 teaser

• Julia Morris issues major warning after announcing cancer diagnosis: 'No joke'

I’m A Celebrity host Julia Morris has now responded to the rumours ahead of the show’s premiere and official cast reveal on January 19, telling Yahoo Lifestyle that she thinks the controversy surrounding Raygun’s hypothetical casting is hilarious.

“What I love is reading if someone who's sort of controversial, say for example like Rachael, that people are like, ‘That’s it, you’ve lost me!’. It’s so funny like, alright love, guess what? You're gonna watch it,” she remarks.

“There’s no way of knowing like, ‘This is definitely who it is’. One of the great calling cards of the show is that on the opening night, you have to tune in to find out.”

Robert Irwin's advice for deciphering 'cryptic' clues

Robert Irwin also encourages fans to not take the clues so literally as “the whole point is to throw everyone off”.

“You have to remember the clues are supposed to be like, right on the money and also misleading,” he shares. “Some of them are completely direct, and then some of them seem like it's going to be this, but it's actually that. There’s a big grand plan that everyone has, it’s very cryptic.

“I've had people sit down with a list of celebrities and go, ‘Can you just just either nod or shake your head as I go through the list’ and I’m like ‘Mate, no I can’t do that!’,” he laughs, before adding: “It’s good though, get ready because it's like, ‘Woah’.”

Julia and Robert address common complaint

No matter how famous some of the contestants are on I’m A Celebrity, there are always viewers who claim they have “no idea” who somebody is or question the definition of ‘celebrity’.

Julia admits she’s used to this after 11 seasons and occasionally doesn’t know every contestant herself, however, she asserts that’s not the point of the reality show.

“Every single year I'm like, ‘If you heard just one of those people, you'd be like, eh’, but it's the combination of these people,” she details. “So my children will know some people that I won't know, and vice versa. I will know people where I’m like, ‘Girls, how do you not know who this is?’. So it's something for every generation.

“I think it is much more beneficial to find out who the cast is as a group because anyone can say, ‘You call that a celebrity?’ because different age groups are going to know different contributors.”

'Would never happen'

Robert believes the most special part of the series is watching celebrities from different walks of life interacting for the very first time.

“What makes the show so great is not just the fact that you know, here's Shane Warne in the jungle or here's Frankie Muniz in the jungle. It’s the fact that all these different people are talking to each other. It's conversations that would never happen in reality,” he says.

SHOP:

• The Aussie company making beauty more accessible and less of a burden

• Aussies rave about much cheaper dupe of $70 cult product: 'Far better'

• The lash and brow oil that will save you hundreds at the salon

“And you think they’re going to be conflicting ideologies and they end up being all-time besties,” Julia adds. “I love to see that.”

I’m A Celebrity starts January 19 on Channel 10 and 10Play

Want the latest lifestyle and entertainment news? Make sure you are following us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok and don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter.