ITV’s I’m A Celebrity viewing figures fall off a cliff as some viewers ‘boycott’ show

Jack Peat

It has been reported that Farage has bagged £1.5 million for appearing on the show

The first episode of the new series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! had more than two million fewer viewers than last year.

An average of seven million viewers watched the return of the show on Sunday night, according to overnight ratings, and ITV reported a peak audience of 7.8 million.

The ITV1 show, which this year includes former Ukip and Brexit party leader Nigel Farage and Jamie Lynn Spears, began at 9pm and ended at 10.45pm.

The first episode of the 2022 series had an average audience of 9.1 million and a peak viewership of 10.3 million, according to ITV overnight ratings.

Ahead of the first episode, ITV received thousands of complaints and threats of boycotts over Farage’s inclusion on the show.

Stand-up comic London Hughes and Kathy Burke were among those calling for fans of the show to turn off on Sunday night, decrying ITV for “platforming a racist as a form of entertainment”.

And even people who tuned in to give it a chance had to turn it off prematurely.

One person wrote: “I’ve watched #ImACeleb for 0.5 seconds and Farage’s stupid face and stupid voice already makes me want to turn it off and never watch it again.”

While another raged: “The sight of HIM is making me want to turn off already #imaceleb.”

A third seethed: “@ITV @imacelebrity you should be utterly ashamed of yourself for bringing in and paying an obscene amount of money to the disgusting and vile human being @Nigel_Farage Shame on you! #itv #ImACeleb #disgraceful #belowthebel.”

Another wrote: “Vile really!!! He’s only going in the Jungle to get support and achieve what he really wants to be an MP, at the next General Election It’s all about next year for our Nige! #ImACeleb xxx.”

Even Ant and Dec couldn’t keep quiet about Farage with Dec quipping: “There’s the man who’s got everyone talking. Nigel Farage. Nigel now, not just known for his controversial political career, he’s also got his own show on GB News. Now of course, he won’t be presenting that show over the next three weeks. So we’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to all of GB News viewers.” Ant then said: “Sorry Keith, sorry Linda.