MasterChef judge tipped to join I'm A Celebrity in 2025 for huge amount of money

There have been plenty of culinary icons who have appeared on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! since the reality show first premiered in 2015, including Julie Goodwin, Miguel Maestre, Colin Fassnidge, Poh Ling Yeow, and most recently Khanh Ong. With the upcoming eleventh season set to premiere in just over two months, fans have now begun speculating which famous faces will head into the jungle in 2025.

Yahoo Lifestyle can reveal that one star rumoured to be amongst the cast is former MasterChef judge Melissa Leong, who is currently hosting Dessert Masters alongside Amaury Guichon. An insider tells us that Channel 10 likely won’t renew Dessert Masters for a third season next year due to low ratings, however, they “don’t want to lose their relationship” with the food critic and are hoping to cast her on another show.

“What has happened in the past with Channel 10’s ‘network talent’ after their flagship show gets cancelled is that they get offered a significant pay cheque to enter the jungle,” our source shares.

“We saw that with Tristan McManus last year after Studio 10 was axed. He was reluctant but eventually agreed as the network promised him more work if he signed up for the reality show.”

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The insider went on to say that network executives could “play into Melissa’s fearless nature and unpredictable career choices” to get her on the show, but the decision will likely come down to how much money she’s offered.

“The money is often quite good and if Melissa could bag a quarter of a million dollars for the proposed 21 days, that isn't something anyone should easily turn down,” they add. “They will need to frame this offer with a very clever pitch.”

What do we know about I'm A Celebrity 2025?

Season 11 of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! will once again be hosted by Julia Morris and Robert Irwin, who were both nominated for the Gold Logie at the 2024 Logie Awards earlier this year.

Channel 10 also confirmed at their annual Upfront event in September that the series will premiere in January, marking the first time it has been filmed at the start of the year since 2022.

As for which stars will be competing, a celebrity casting agent tells Yahoo Lifestyle the cast is being finalised this week and there are “only a few spots left”.

“Casting men for these sorts of celebrity shows is easy but for some reason finding women to sign on is always a struggle. They usually take a lot more convincing,” they share. “Getting someone who has done the show to convince the potential celebrities is often the best path to getting reluctant stars to agree, and Channel Ten have asked Poh Ling Yeow to vouch for the show.”

Will Raygun appear on I'm A Celebrity 2025?

While there have been plenty of rumours about Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn joining the cast of I’m A Celebrity in 2025 following her viral stint at the 2024 Olympics, the breaker recently shut down rumours she will be making a foray into reality TV.

“Yeah, no, I will not be going into the jungle,” she told The Fox’s Fifi, Fev & Nick. “I just don't think reality TV is a good fit for me.”

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Raygun went on to reveal the surprising reason she doesn’t want to appear on a reality show anytime soon, despite the enormous paycheque that would likely come with it.

“I have a very 'memeable' face, as we've seen. There's been some amazing memes that have come out, and I just don't think reality TV is the space for me,” she said with a laugh. “So I'm going to focus on things where I can really bring joy and to try and encourage people to be creative.”

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