Warning: this article contains ‘I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!’ spoilers
He is King, he is Queen, and now Jack Vidgen is a Celebrity! After weeks of intense speculation, the first episode of Season 7 of ‘I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!’ aired tonight, confirming the appearances of many famous Aussie faces in the Jungle, including Australia Decides 2020 star Jack Vidgen.
A teaser in the lead-up to the show hinted at Jack’s appearance, saying “he’s sung on the world stage, but now he’ll be singing for his supper!” Jack Vidgen famously won Season 5 of ‘Australia’s Got Talent’ in 2011 and was a semi-finalist in Season 8 of ‘The Voice Australia’. Most recently, he finished eighth in Australia Decides 2020 with his song ‘I Am King, I Am Queen’.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the show has been filmed over four weeks in November - December 2020 in the Australian outback instead of its usual location in South Africa. It is also the first season of the Australian show to be pre-recorded, with a live grand finale airing later this month.
In the Australian bush, featuring 60 species of deadly snakes, 100 species of deadly spiders, leeches, ticks, and all sorts of creepy crawlies, the celebrities will certainly face their fears! For someone who confessed he is not a fan of snakes, spiders or camping and “[doesn’t] really like the outdoors”, Jack is certainly in for a challenge! He posted on social media earlier this evening, describing the show as “one of the craziest experiences” of his life.
Of course, Jack Vidgen is not the first Aussie with Eurovision or Australia Decides connections to have entered the Jungle. Both current ‘Australia Decides’ hosts and Australian Eurovision commentators Joel Creasey and Myf Warhurst have competed in ‘I’m A Celebrity’ - with Joel finishing in fifth place in the very first season of the show back in 2015 and Myf coming sixth last season.
Fellow Australia Decides 2020 contestant Casey Donovan won Season 3 of ‘I’m A Celebrity’ in 2017, becoming the first Aussie Queen of the Jungle, with Eurovision 2016 Australian jury member Shannon Noll coming runner-up the following year.
Episode 1 Recap
On tonight’s show, it was revealed that the celebrity campers will be split into three teams this year, with Jack, Paulini Curuenavuli (who came 4th in the first season of ‘Australian Idol’ in 2003) and Jess Eva (of ‘The Block’ fame) all selected to captain one of the three teams. Jack is captain of the green team, Jess is in charge of the red team and Paulini is leading the blue team.
In a move that would have Arilena Ara shaking in her boots, the team captains were selected to skydive out of a helicopter, falling from the sky 14 000 feet into a lake! Jack bravely elected to go first, despite being a “nervous flier”.
After his bold leap, he even jumped in to help Paulini out of the water after she took the plunge, as she was unable to swim. How heroic!
The three team captains were then asked to pick their teammates from a group of 3 celebrities based only on descriptions and silhouettes, with Jack selecting a “Soapie Songbird” as his teammate. Jack’s teammate was later revealed to be actress, singer and presenter Toni Pearen.
The team captains were taken to the campsite for the first time, where they were greeted with their first challenge - to get the campfire started! As the group struggled with the task, Jack decided to lighten the mood by serenading the other captains and Paulini even belted out her 2012 single ‘Fireman’!
Comedian Mel Buttle won the King Miguel’s Kitchen challenge, narrowly pipping the green team to the post and winning first pick of a teammate for the red team - a “Ballsy Bloke”. Toni chose the “Reality Chick” for her teammate in the green team, with presenter Grant Denyer and the blue team having to settle for a “Hairy Dude”.
With the team captains meeting the teammates they chose, Grant admitted that he didn’t recognise Jack nearly a decade after they first met on ‘Australia’s Got Talent’! All six team members put their heads together and finally got the campfire started!
Meanwhile, the final 3 celebrities met each other in the Jungle for the first time. The “Reality Chick” in question turned out to be none other than ‘The Bachelor’ star Abbie Chatfield! Comedian Ash Williams was revealed as the “Hairy Dude” and the “Ballsy Bloke” is retired AFL player Travis Varcoe.
In the Unhappy Hour Bar challenge, these three celebrities had to wear helmets full of insects and spiders while reaching their hands into a cage filled with snakes to find keys and unlock several padlocks to escape. Fortunately for Jack and his green team, Abbie was the first to unlock her helmet and received a gold medal for her efforts! She also won her team a hot, freshly-cooked and delivered meal of Thai green chicken curry with mango for dessert! Delicious!
The episode concluded with the announcement that another celebrity would be heading into the jungle tomorrow night. Who will it be? Will the Green Team prosper? Will Jack make it all the way in the Outback? Will he be King or Queen of the Jungle (or both)? Stay tuned to find out!
Jack Vidgen’s chosen charity for ‘I’m A Celebrity Australia’ this season is the Trish Multiple Sclerosis Research Foundation, whose aim is to find a cure or preventative strategy for Multiple Sclerosis. If he wins, he will raise $100,000 for this fantastic cause. You can find out more about the Trish Multiple Sclerosis Research Foundation here.
‘I’m A Celebrity Australia’ airs on weeknights and Sunday nights on Channel 10 at 7:30pm AEDT. You can catch up on the latest episodes at 10play here.