I am a star - Get me out of here! - Exciting figures for 20 years of jungle camp
The RTL Jungle Camp is kicking off a special season from August 16th (daily at 8:15 PM, on RTL+ from August 15th). In "I'm a Celebrity - Showdown of Jungle Legends", all-stars from previous seasons will compete against each other. The channel is celebrating the 20-year history of the reality format. Here are 20 exciting facts and figures about "I'm a Celebrity - Get Me Out of Here!".
1. The First King
In 2004, German celebrities first went into the RTL Jungle Camp, which is based on the British format "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!" and is produced with around 400 employees. On January 20th, singer Costa Cordalis (1944-2019) was crowned the first Jungle King. He beat Lisa Fitz (72) and Daniel Küblböck (1985-2018). However, 2004 didn't end with just one winner: the second season took place in the fall and Désirée Nick (67) took the crown. Cordalis therefore had the shortest "term" with 292 days so far. Nine Jungle Queens and eight Jungle Kings have been able to celebrate the victory so far.
2. The Break
The fact that the Jungle Camp is celebrating its 20th anniversary and there have only been 17 seasons so far is due to a break. Due to high production costs and a complex production, the show was not continued after the second season in 2004 and only returned in 2008.
3. The Departures
With the phrase "I'm a Celebrity - Get me out of here!", jungle campers can voluntarily end their adventure early. Dustin Semmelrogge (44) was the first to make use of this option in season one, leaving the camp after just three days. So far, 12 stars have made use of this option. Five stars have also left the camp due to medical advice, and two stars had to leave due to a channel instruction...
4. The Dismissal
In 2008, DJ Tomekk (48) was kicked out of the third season of the RTL show after 11 days - on the channel's instructions. The responsible persons took him out of the show without explanation. Previously, a private video had surfaced in which he was seen giving the Hitler salute. His subsequent apology and explanation that he had "no right-wing thinking at all" did not bring him back into the camp. Janina Youssefian (41) had to leave season 15 due to a racist remark.
5. Abort, Abort
With the famous jungle camp phrase, campers can also opt out of a challenge early. According to RTL, 15 challenges have been aborted in 20 years and a total of 325 jungle challenges. The stars of the latest 17th season hold the record with four aborted challenges. Among the past aborters are, for example, Jimmy Hartwig (69) in season two or jungle queen Djamila Rowe (57) in season 16. In season 10, Helena Fürst (50) even decided to abort two challenges and refused to do another one completely.
In total, 10 challenges were completely refused. And how many stars could be won? In 20 years, there could have been 2,629 stars, 1,483 of which were earned. A significant role is also played by animal companions: around 4 million insects have already been used. According to RTL, these come from breeding facilities.
TV Emigrant Danni Büchner (46) had to undergo the jungle trial 12 times in 2020 in Australia, setting a record for the most trials. Model and actress Larissa Marolt (32) has so far completed the second-highest number of challenges, with 10 in 2014. Gisele Oppermann (36) had to complete 9 trials in 2019, as did Helena Fürst in 2016.
7. Let me back in!
To keep things interesting in the jungle universe, the producers have also created spin-offs. In 2015, former candidates competed in "I'm a Star - Let me back in!" to re-enter the camp. Brigitte Nielsen (61), the 2012 jungle queen, won and participated again in 2016, finishing in sixth place this time.
8. The Golden Ticket and the Move
In 2021, the producers had to get creative: due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the regular season was canceled. Instead, there was the German-produced show "I'm a Star - The Great Jungle Show". In it, Filip Pavlovic (30) secured the Golden Ticket for the next season and was even crowned jungle king in 2022.
However, the crowning did not take place in Australia, but in South Africa. The 15th season was filmed in early 2022 not in Down Under, but near the Kruger National Park, the largest wildlife reserve in South Africa, in Mpumalanga. In 2023, the show returned to Australia. By the way: the jungle campers have so far covered a total flight distance of 532,400 kilometers (Germany-Australia and once Germany-South Africa). "This distance would have been enough to transport the stars to the moon and back halfway," RTL reports.
9. The Advertising Slap
In 2014, the reality show was found by a court decision to have overdone it with a product placement. Because a bar of a biscuit manufacturer was shown for too long in a sequence and was too prominently featured, a court in Hannover decided in 2016 that it was covert advertising.
10. The Buyout
Sonja Zietlow (56) has been loyal to the format as a moderator since season one. However, various moderators have also appeared from the jungle: Dirk Bach (1961-2012) presented the show with her until season six. After his death, Daniel Hartwich (45) became the new jungle moderator in season seven in 2013. In season 16, Jan Köppen (41) took over his position after Hartwich announced his show departure for family reasons.
11. The Famous Jungle Reporter
Someone you wouldn't necessarily expect to find in the Australian jungle is Markus Lanz (55). He was an RTL reporter on site in the first two seasons. He reported directly from the jungle for "Extra Spezial". After an internship at Radio Hamburg, Markus Lanz's career at RTL began. In 1998, he replaced Barbara Eligmann at the magazine "Explosiv" and subsequently became a permanent moderator there. From 2008, he then worked for ZDF.
12. Run out of luck
In 2011, the show could be happy about a nomination for the German Television Award and in 2013 in the entertainment category about a nomination for the Grimme Award. But it didn't get an award. In 2013, Zietlow and Hartwich were to be awarded for the best moderation in the comedy category at the German Comedy Award. The moderators did not participate in the award ceremony after the death of Dirk Bach. In 2023, the show then won in the category "Best Entertainment Reality" at the German Television Award.
13. The Age Records and Professions
In early 2024, Heinz Hoenig, at 72 years old, moved into the camp in Australia. However, he was not the oldest candidate in the history of the successful RTL show. Ingrid van Bergen, currently 93, is the oldest candidate to have ventured into the Australian jungle adventure, participating in 2009 at the age of 78 and even winning. The youngest Dschungelcamp candidate was Daniel Küblböck, who entered the camp at 18. The youngest Dschungelkönig was Joey Heindle, who was crowned at 19 in season seven. On average, a Dschungelstar is 41.06 years old, according to RTL. Professionally, actors have been the most represented (43 stars), followed by musicians (42 stars) and reality TV stars (34 stars).
14. The Constant
Robert "Dr. Bob" McCarron (74) has been part of "Ich bin ein Star - Holt mich hier raus!" since the first season. The special effects artist and makeup artist was discovered for the Dschungelcamp while working on "Matrix". He was hired as "Medical Bob" for the British original "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!" in 2002 and made his first appearance as "Dr. Bob" in the RTL Dschungelcamp in 2004. Since then, the Dschungel doctor has been the trusted figure of the celebrities, briefing them about possible risks and dangers before each Dschungelprüfung.**
15. The Romances
Some stars have also gotten closer in the camp. Jay Khan (42) and Indira Weis (44) sparked a romance in season five, but eventually split after a brief time together. Both still deny it was a PR stunt or a fake relationship. A year later, Rocco Stark (38) and Kim Gloss (31) became the Dschungel-Traumpaar in 2012 and even became parents to the first "Dschungelbaby" after the show. However, they are now separated.**
16. The Ex-Pair
According to RTL, 2017 saw the first ex-pair, Marc Terenzi (46) and Gina-Lisa Lohfink (37), enter the camp. The musician and reality star, who were together in 2009, had different outcomes. Lohfink placed eighth, while Terenzi won the show.**
17. Two Camps
The reality show has remained faithful to its concept over the years, but there was a change in 2016 and 2017. Initially, two camps were set up, with candidates from the Base Camp competing against those from Camp Snake Rock in challenges for their respective teams.**
18. No Entry
In 2023, Martin Semmelrogge (68) was the only one of the twelve participants not granted entry into Australia. He was stranded in Doha until he eventually had to return to Germany. This wasn't the first time a candidate didn't enter the camp. Nastassja Kinski (63) reportedly withdrew in 2017 before even boarding the plane to Australia. Lucas Cordalis (57) had to miss the 2022 season due to a positive COVID-19 test but was able to participate in 2023.**
19. The Voting Glitch
Not everything always goes smoothly. In season 13, there was a technical glitch in the voting system, resulting in no candidate being eliminated. The next day, the candidate with the fewest votes (Chris Töpperwien) and two others (Bastian Yotta and Sandra Kiriasis) were eliminated.**
20. The Winning Prize
Since 2019, the incentive for celebrities to win the show has been even greater. In the 13th season onwards, stars not only receive their previously agreed-upon fee but also a cash prize of 100,000 euros for being crowned the Dschungelkönig or Dschungelkönigin. For the first time, Evelyn Burdecki (35) enjoyed this benefit.
The special season of the RTL Jungle Camp, which is starting on August 16th, will be broadcast on RTL+ a day earlier at 8:15 PM. The RTL Jungle Camp uses the RTL+ streaming service for its special early-access broadcasts, as mentioned in the text.
The RTL Jungle Camp had a break in production between the second and eighth seasons, and it returned in 2008. According to the text, the show was not continued after the second season due to high production costs and a complex production, and it returned in 2008.
