I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here

I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here is a reality TV show that started out in the United Kingdom. Several other countries have adapted the format including the United States, where two seasons have been developed on different networks. The show is very loosely based on the premise of Survivor, but cheesier, and with celebrity contestants.

Tropical locations are popular with reality shows.

Ten mostly D-list celebrities are abandoned in a remote jungle where they must perform tasks to earn creature comforts. The show is recorded live and airs during successive nights. During each broadcast, viewers can vote by phone or text message for certain things, including:

• Who has to face a challenge to earn food, supplies, or luxury items
• What type of competition or task the celebrities should undertake
• Which celebrity should be eliminated

For example, in order to win food, three choices of tasks or challenges might be offered. Viewers vote on which task they want as well as which celebrity they'd like to see perform it. The celebrity must accept the task and complete it successfully in order for the whole team to win the reward.

The most recent U.S. series, which premiered on June 1, 2009, takes place in Costa Rica. The winner of the show earns the title of King or Queen of the Jungle.

Contestants earn an appearance fee, but win no prize money. Instead, this payment is donated to a charity of their choice.

The first American version of the show aired on the ABC network, from February 19 to March 3, 2003. The show was hosted by John Lehr and featured ten celebrities:

• TV host Robin Leach
• Alana Stewart, notable for having been married to George Hamilton and Rod Stewart
• Model Nikki Schieler Ziering
• Former MTV personality Downtown Julie Brown
• Actress Maria Conchita Alonzo
• Model, actor, and reality TV host Tyson Beckford
• Olympian and reality TV star Bruce Jenner
• Howard Stern radio show sidekick Stuttering John Melendez
• TV host Melissa Rivers, daughter of Joan Rivers
• Dancer Cris Judd, ex-husband of Jennifer Lopez

In the end, Cris Judd and Melissa Rivers were the final two celebrities standing, with Judd winning the viewer vote.

Six years later, the I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here format was purchased by the NBC network. This second U.S. series runs from June 1 to 24, and includes a two hour premiere. The contestants vying to be King or Queen of the Jungle this time are:

• American Idol contestant Sanjaya Malakar
• The Hills star Heidi Montag
• The Hills star Spencer Pratt
• Former pro basketball player John Salley
• Actor Lou Diamond Phillips
• Actor Stephen Baldwin
• Patti Blagojevich, wife of scandal-ridden former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich
• Former supermodel and reality show star Janice Dickinson
• Former pro wrestler Torrie Wilson
• Best Week Ever comedy pair Frangela

The hosts this time around are Damian Fahey, host of MTV's Total Request Live, and Myleene Klass, a British entertainer who was a contestant on the U.K. version of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. Janice Dickinson, one of the contestants, has also played the British version of the game.

Interestingly, Rod Blagojevich was on hand for the media presentation held by NBC to introduce the show. He had been asked to be a contestant, but was barred from leaving the country due to his ongoing legal struggles on federal corruption charges. Both networks execs and Blagojevich himself have stated that he will still have some sort of role in the show.

The main reason why people tune in to this show is to see how celebrities will react when faced with the jungle environment. While there are camera crews and staff on hand, it's hardly the lavish Hollywood lifestyle that many of them have grown accustomed to.

Several pampered celebs end up breaking down or falling apart when they realize that no one is bringing them food or shelter, and that they really have to sleep in the wilderness for three weeks. The viewers often jump on this, and vote for these stars to undertake the tasks.

To learn more about I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, visit NBC.com.

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