I’m A Celebrity Off To Good Start For ITV

The latest outing of celebrity survival show, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! proved a winner for ITV last night, drawing a peak of 10 million viewers to see this series’ unwitting personalities dumped unceremoniously into the show’s tropical base camp.

The show averaged an audience of nine million, grabbing a 35% audience share in the 9:00pm to 10:30pm slot despite competition from BBC One’s costume drama North and South and a second showing of romantic comedy film, Four Weddings and a Funeral, on Channel 4.

Amongst the contestants vying to be crowned king or queen of the jungle are ex-boy band member Brian Harvey, journalist and broadcaster Janet Street-Porter, squeeky-voiced comedian Joe Pasquale and former royal butler Paul Burrell. The series is once more hosted by Ant and Dec, following a multi-million pound deal tying the presenters exclusively to ITV for the next three years (see ITV Secures Ant And Dec For Next Three Years).

However, despite the best efforts of its celebrity contestants and hosts, last night’s performance was cast into shadow slightly by the launch night of I’m a Celebrity series three, which drew an average of 10.5 million viewers in January, before rising to just almost 16 million for its finalé (see Almost 16 Million Viewers Watch I’m A Celebrity Final).

ITV has placed emphasis on the interactive features offered by the antipodean series’ latest outing, offering viewers a raft of extra material to accompany the show, with interactive TV elements, mobile phone content and traditional phone voting (see ITV Gives Viewers Interactive Contol Over Celebrities).

In addition the series is sponsored by First Choice Holidays, offering viewers a range of online and interactive options. The exclusive broadcast sponsorship saw the holiday company support its association with the gameshow by dressing more than 300 of its travel shops and holiday hypermarkets in jungle foliage earlier this year (see I’m A Celebrity Is First Choice For Holiday Firm).

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com

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