This year’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! contestants will not be be eating live creepy crawlies during trials, according to reports.
In previous years camp mates including former TOWIE star Ferne McCann have been asked to feast on living critters in return for Bushtucker trial stars.
But following campaigns that have included objections from BBC Autumnwatch host and wildlife expert Chris Packham, bosses are said to have agreed to only serve up dead bugs to the 2019 stars of the ITV1 show.
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A source told The Sun: “Last year only beach worms were fed to the celebrities still alive but now there’s a total ban.
“The increased sensitivity around the subject has become too hard to ignore.”
Declan, you have a daughter, please think about how she will perceive your actions.
ED! has approached ITV for comment.
I’m A Celebrity has been on screens since 2002 and is famed for its ‘eating’ trials.
But in 2015, television watchdog Ofcom received a whopping 1,500 complaints after Ferne McCann ate a live water spider during the final.
Chris, meanwhile, has been extremely vocal about his thoughts, having previously likened killing wildlife for a telly show ‘as something from the Middle Ages’.
The furious 58-year-old has even written an open letter – published by The Mirror – to I’m A Celebrity presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, calling for a full ban on live animals being used in the show.
According to newspaper, he pleaded: “I am certain that you and the imaginative producers at ITV could find very entertaining ways of replacing these segments of your show, so can I please, on behalf of a large and growing number of people, ask you to immediately stop abusing animals on ‘I’m a Celebrity’?”
Addressing dad-of-one Dec, he is even said to have written: “Declan, you have a daughter, please think about how she will perceive your actions as she grows into a world increasingly devoid of wildlife… we are now all aware that we have a duty to safeguard our world for future generations.”
I’m A Celebrity 2019 kicks off tomorrow night (Sunday November 17) and features an all-star lineup.
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This year’s contestants include former England footballer Ian Wright, ex-EastEnder Jacqueline Jossa and Good Morning Britain’s Kate Garraway.
But it is US reality star and former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner who is said to be walking away with the biggest pay cheque for taking part.
According to reports, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians favourite is being paid a whopping £500,000.