I’m A Celeb Almost MOVED NETWORKS?! The DESPERATE 3-Way Bidding War and Channel 10’s Last-Ditch Panic!

On Wednesday, it was revealed that Channel Seven had officially poached the show from rival Network 10 and confirmed the hit reality format would return to Australian screens in 2027.

However, while Seven eventually won the race, multiple television sources claim that I’m A Celebrity sparked an intense behind-the-scenes contest involving Seven, Nine and even its former home, Network Ten.

According to industry insiders, Nine viewed the series as the ideal bridge between Married At First Sight and The Block, filling a significant gap in its annual programming schedule with a broad, family-friendly entertainment format.

“Nine genuinely wanted the show,” one television source claimed.

“They saw it as a proven tentpole that could comfortably sit between two of their biggest franchises and give audiences another major event series.”

Sources familiar with Nine’s proposal to helm the show claim the network’s version would have looked notably different from the original format, with the network suggesting that production shift back to Australia as a pre-recorded series rather than live filming in South Africa.

Furthermore, Julia Morris was expected to return under Nine’s proposal, according to multiple industry sources.

Perhaps the biggest surprise throughout the negotiations, however, was Network Ten’s late attempt to reclaim the franchise after previously deciding not to proceed with another season.

The broadcaster maintained publicly that the show had merely been “paused”, but insiders say ITV Studios began exploring conversations elsewhere once it became clear the format was no longer guaranteed a future at the network.

Industry sources claim senior executives at Ten later revisited the possibility of bringing the series back, with discussions reportedly floating the idea of a pre-recorded version continuing to film in South Africa.

One television insider described the renewed interest as “a case of realising what they’d lost once the format was genuinely available to competitors.”

Several sources also suggested casting had become increasingly challenging for the network after more than a decade on air.

“They’d already used a significant portion of their established talent pool,” one source alleged.

“Finding enough recognisable personalities who hadn’t already appeared on the show was becoming increasingly difficult.”

Ten ultimately came up empty-handed, an outcome that will likely prompt reflection, an insider claims.

Seven, meanwhile, entered negotiations with what insiders describe as the strongest long-term vision for reinventing the franchise.

According to multiple television sources, executives pitched a refreshed version designed to draw heavily from the broadcaster’s extensive roster of personalities across news, sport, lifestyle and entertainment programming, giving producers access to one of the largest internal talent pools in Australian television.

The result is a significant programming coup for Seven, which now adds another internationally recognised entertainment brand to its schedule.