ITV Releases First Teaser for 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!' Amidst PETA Criticism

ITV has released the first teaser trailer for the upcoming season of "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!," set to premiere on November 16. The trailer features hosts Ant and Dec overseeing a Christmas carol performance that incorporates elements of the show's notorious Bushtucker Trials.

As carolers sing "The 12 Days of Christmas," traditional elements are replaced with "vomit smoothies," "12 tubs of offal," and "two tonnes of mud," among other gross trial components. The trailer concludes with Ant remarking on the festive spirit, asking, "Isn't it just the most wonderful time of the year?"

The show is entering its 26th season, and speculation is mounting regarding the celebrity contestants, with reports suggesting Chloe Burrows from "Love Island" might be participating.

Last year's series garnered significant viewership, launching with 11.3 million viewers and reaching 23.4 million across all platforms, accounting for 38% of the television-watching population.

The release of the new trailer coincides with renewed criticism from the animal rights organization PETA. PETA has previously expressed strong opposition to the show's "relentless reign of animal exploitation," labeling it a "tacky and cruel spectacle."

PETA's campaign highlights the Bushtucker trials, which often involve celebrities interacting with and consuming live creatures such as spiders, mealworms, and cockroaches. The organization argues that "animal abuse is not entertainment."

In response to the show's practices, PETA has created Halloween costumes depicting Ant and Dec as perpetrators at a crime scene, aiming to draw attention to the "cruelty towards frogs, crocodiles, spiders, rats, insects, and other animals."

Elisa Allen, PETA's Vice President of Programmes, stated, "Unlike the celebrities who volunteer to enter the jungle, animals never sign up to be confined, terrified, or killed for a cheap laugh. PETA's Halloween costumes put Ant and Dec's complicity in the spotlight and call on ITV to cut cruelty from the script and get the animals out of there."

The organization claims that past trials have seen animals confined in inescapable chambers and subjected to stressful conditions, with body parts of animals being served as food. These practices have reportedly led to thousands of complaints to the UK's broadcasting regulator, Ofcom.

ITV has faced legal issues related to the show in the past. In 2009, the network faced prosecution in Australia after contestant Gino D'Acampo killed and cooked a rat. The following year, the program pleaded guilty to two animal cruelty charges and paid a fine.

"I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!" is scheduled to return this November on ITV, ITVX, STV, and STV Player.