I'm a Celebrity's emergency casting change after $500,000 offer 'falls over'

EXCLUSIVE: An international singing superstar was set to appear in the jungle instead of Max Balegde.

A different celebrity was supposed to enter the jungle instead of Max Balegde. Credit: Channel Ten
A different celebrity was supposed to enter the jungle instead of Max Balegde. Credit: Channel Ten

I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! kicked off this week for 2025, and already there's been plenty of drama. From some people originally not being happy with the lineup to other fans speculating there's already a potential jungle romance kicking off, it's set to be a memorable season.

While many people took to social media to whine about the lineup (we all know the classic "who?" comments that people love to drop on these shows) Yahoo Lifestyle can now reveal there was one big-name international celebrity due to appear on this year's season that people surely would have recognised.

According to an insider, Mel B from the Spice Girls was originally meant to be stepping foot in the jungle but had to pull out last minute, leading to TikTok star and comedian Max Balegde taking her spot.

The source tells Yahoo Lifestyle, "Melanie Brown was supposed to be the English international on the show" with the money for the former Spice Girl set to be a $500,000 payday for two weeks, and more money if she remained in the jungle.

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"Mel wasn’t put off by ‘the jungle’ life and would have been happy to share the campsite with her former Masked Singer co-host Hughesy, but pulled out for personal reasons," the source shared. "The money was right, the opportunity right, but sometimes these things fall over.”

the masked singer australia
Mel and Hughesy were judges on The Masked Singer together. Photo: 10

Fans of the show were left puzzled on the night of the I'm A Celeb premiere, when two clues — "the chart topper" and "the stadium superstar" didn't seem to match any of the celebrities entering the jungle. "It would seem the clues this year were published before the ink was dry," our source said.

Funnily enough, Mel B's replacement, Max, does share her initials. Despite not many people knowing Max's claim to fame, producers are confident he'll win Australia over. "He could easily go the whole way and win this thing," our source said.

The cast of I'm A Celeb 2025. Photo: 10
The cast of I'm A Celeb 2025. Photo: 10

While we'll wait to see which celebs win over Aussie fans this year, it hasn't stopped annoyed people calling 2025 the "worst" line-up ever.

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"Might as well call it 'I'm a regular person, and happy to be getting work,'" one person quipped. "I don't even know half of them," another added. "This is your worst line up ever ..ratings flop incoming," a third wrote.

"Ahhh the annual ‘haven’t seen em in years and who the flying f**k are they’ game," someone else said.

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