I am a star - Get me out of here! - The First, the Elder and the Embarrassing: Facts and Figures of 20 Years in Jungle Camp
The RTL Jungle Camp is kicking off on August 16 (daily at 8:15 PM, on RTL+ from August 15) with a special season. In "I'm a Celebrity - Showdown of Jungle Legends", 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 ventured 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 20, singer Costa Cordalis (1944-2019) was crowned the first Jungle King. He beat Lisa Fitz and Daniel Küblböck (1985-2018). However, 2004 did not end with just one winner: Desiree Nick won the second season in the fall. Cordalis thus had the shortest "reign" of 292 days so far. Nine Jungle Queens and eight Jungle Kings have been able to celebrate victory so far.
2. The Jungle Camp 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 an elaborate production, the show was not continued after the second season in 2004 and only returned in 2008.
3. The Departures
With the sentence "I'm a Celebrity - Get me out of here!", Jungle Camp participants can voluntarily end their adventure early. Dustin Semmelrogge 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 Embarrassing Ones
In 2008, DJ Tomekk was kicked out of the third season of the RTL show after 11 days - on the channel's instructions. The responsible parties removed him from the show without explanation. A private video had previously 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 had to leave due to a racist remark in season 15.
5. Abort, Abort
With the famous Jungle Camp sentence, the campers can also opt out of a trial early. According to RTL, 15 trials have been aborted in 20 years and a total of 325 jungle trials. The stars of the latest 17th season hold the record with four aborted trials. Among the past aborters are, for example, Jimmy Hartwig in season two or Jungle Queen Djamila Rowe in season 16. In the tenth season, Helena Fürst even decided to abort two trials and refused to do another one completely.
In total, ten trials were completely refused. And how many stars could be won? In 20 years, 2,629 stars could have been won, 1,483 stars were earned. A significant role is also played by animal companions: Approximately 4 million insects have already been used. According to RTL, these come from breeding facilities.
TV personality Danni Büchner had to undergo the jungle trial a total of twelve times in Australia in 2020, setting a record for the most trials. Model and actress Larissa Marolt has completed the second-highest number of challenges, participating in ten tasks in 2014. Gisele Oppermann and Helena Fürst each had to complete nine trials in 2019 and 2016, respectively.
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 Celebrity - Let me back in!" for a chance to rejoin the camp. Brigitte Nielsen, 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, but "I'm a Celebrity - The Great Jungle Show" was produced in Germany. In it, Filip Pavlovic 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 near the Kruger National Park, the largest wildlife reserve in South Africa, in Mpumalanga, due to the pandemic. In 2023, the show returned to Australia. By the way, the jungle campers have 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 to Earth," RTL reports.
9. The advertising fiasco
In 2014, the reality show was ruled by a court to have overdone product placement. A bar of a biscuit manufacturer was shown for too long in a sequence and was too prominently featured, leading a court in Hannover in 2016 to rule that it was covert advertising.
10. The handover
Sonja Zietlow has been loyal to the format as a moderator since the first season. However, various moderators have joined her from the jungle: Dirk Bach (1961-2012) co-hosted the show with her until the sixth season. After his death, Daniel Hartwich became the new jungle moderator in 2013 for the seventh season. In season 16, Jan Köppen took over his position after Hartwich announced his departure from the show for family reasons.
11. The famous jungle reporter
Someone you wouldn't necessarily expect to find in the Australian jungle is Markus Lanz. He was an RTL reporter on location 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 substituted Barbara Eligmann on the magazine "Explosiv" and subsequently became a permanent moderator there. Since 2008, he has been working for ZDF.
12. Gone empty-handed
In 2011, the show could rejoice in a nomination for the German Television Award and in 2013 in the entertainment category for a nomination for the Grimme Award. However, it didn't win any awards. In 2013, Zietlow and Hartwich were to be awarded for the best moderation in the comedy category at the German Comedy Award, but they did not attend the ceremony due to Dirk Bach's death. In 2023, the show finally won in the "Best Entertainment Reality" category at the German Television Award.
13. Age records and professions
Early 2024, Heinz Hoenig, aged 72, moved into the Australian camp. However, he was not the oldest contestant in the history of the successful RTL show. Ingrid van Bergen, currently 93, is the oldest contestant to have ventured into the Australian jungle adventure, having participated in 2009 at the age of 78 and even winning. The youngest Dschungelcamp contestant 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 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". In 2002, he was hired as "Medical Bob" for the British original "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!". In 2004, he made his first appearance as "Dr. Bob" in the RTL Dschungelcamp. 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 and Indira Weis sparked the ultimate romance in season five. After a shared time after the Dschungel, they separated again. To this day, both deny a PR stunt and a fake relationship. Just a year later, Rocco Stark and Kim Gloss 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-couple, Marc Terenzi and Gina-Lisa Lohfink, enter the camp. For the musician and the reality star, who were together in 2009, the outcome was very different. Lohfink finished eighth, while Terenzi won the show.
17. Two Camps
The reality show has remained true to its concept over the years. However, in 2016 and 2017, there was a change: initially, two camps were set up. In the first three days, the candidates from the Base Camp had to compete against the Camp Snake Rock in the trials and for their team.
18. No Entry
In 2023, Martin Semmelrogge was the only one of the twelve participants not granted an entry permit, leaving him stranded in Doha and eventually returning to Germany. This was not the first time a contestant did not enter the camp: Nastassja Kinski reportedly withdrew from the Australian bush in 2017, and Lucas Cordalis 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 results, leading to no contestant having to leave the camp for the first time. The next day, the contestant with the fewest votes (Chris Töpperwien, Bastian Yotta, and Sandra Kiriasis) had to leave with two others.
20. The Winning Prize
Since 2019, the incentive for celebrities to win the show has been even greater. That's because, since season 13, 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. Evelyn Burdecki was the first to enjoy this benefit.
Transparency note: Stern is part of RTL Germany.
The Commission, responsible for overseeing the "I'm a Celebrity - Showdown of Jungle Legends" special season, might consider adopting implementing acts to clarify the rules for the application of this Regulation in the context of the celebrity reality show.
Moreover, if the show's budget or schedule necessitates a break, the Commission shall have the authority to adopt implementing acts laying down the rules for the application of this Regulation, ensuring continuity and fairness in the selection and elimination process of celebrities in the RTL Jungle Camp.
