Revealed: The real reason I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here was axed – and why Robert Irwin may have sealed the reality show’s fate at Network Ten

Well-placed sources have revealed what was really going on behind the scenes of the beloved reality show – and how its big-named host played a part in its downfall.

Robert Irwin attends the Disney network upfront at North Javits Center on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in New York. Picture: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
However, sources close to the show’s cancellation explained that it simply “could not survive another round of cuts.”

“Ten has been shaving money off that show year after year. Cheaper challenges, smaller production elements, tighter talent deals,” one source told SkyNews.com.au.

“Recording the series a few months in advance. Eventually you hit a point where there’s nothing left to cut without damaging the actual product on screen.”

Ironically, the concerns come despite the show actually growing its audience year-on-year, with TV Tonight reporting the 2026 premiere reached 925,000 viewers compared to 905,000 for the 2025 launch.

Representing a 2.2 per cent increase, it was the only Network Ten show to increase in ratings in the last 12 months.

Insiders say the ratings lift only added to frustrations internally, with many believing the series still had life left in it creatively, even if the economics behind producing the show no longer stacked up for Ten.

And to make matters worse, multiple well-placed sources claim the show’s future dramatically unravelled after Robert Irwin failed to commit to the next season.

“Robert became a huge part of the network’s plans,” one source claims.

I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here Australia finalists for 2025 (from left) Sam Thaiday, Reggie Bird and Matty Johnson. Picture: Channel 10
“Ten genuinely saw him as the future face of the show and potentially the future face of the network. When it became clear he wasn’t fully committing long term, that’s when real panic started internally.”

The 22-year-old wildlife warrior had become one of Ten’s biggest breakout success stories after joining Julia Morris on the program, with executives reportedly hoping the series would anchor a much larger long-term talent deal.

But insiders claim rival networks Seven and Nine had already begun circling Irwin for multiple projects, while growing international attention around the TV favourite also complicated Ten’s hopes of securing exclusivity.

Now, industry sources claim the future of I’m A Celebrity is effectively sitting in the hands of Nine and Seven, with both networks understood to have held discussions with ITV Australia about potentially reviving the format elsewhere.

“The format itself is not dead,” one well-placed source claimed, adding: “Everybody still believes the show works.”

According to television insiders, Nine is particularly interested in reinventing the franchise with a more event-style feel and potentially producing it locally. Meanwhile, Seven insiders are said to view Robert Irwin as the key piece of the puzzle should the network attempt to secure the format for themselves.

“If Seven got it, Robert would absolutely become central to the conversation,” an insider claimed.

cre: https://www.skynews.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity-life/revealed-the-real-reason-im-a-celebrity-get-me-out-of-here-was-axed-and-why-robert-irwin-may-have-sealed-the-reality-shows-fate-at-network-ten/news-story/5ec8546f3110d78d93259aed68d2843b