'I'm A Celebrity' 2018: There's One Important Name Missing From This Year's Line-Up

I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! returns to our screens this Sunday, bringing with it the promise of tertiary TV faces eating chinchilla gooch and drinking bush baby tears for our viewing pleasure.

The full I'm a Celebrity line-up was announced last night (Monday), including names such as football manager Harry Redknapp, Anne 'The Governess' Hegerty from The Chase and actor John Barrowman. There is also speculation that Noel Edmonds will be entering the jungle.

But while this line-up will no doubt please fans of daytime TV and anonymous musicians, there is a very important name missing this year and we must address it. Yes, we're talking about Ant McPartlin.

Clearly, we tune in mainly to see publicity=starved/cash-strapped celebs degrade themselves with eel semen, but we also expect a complimentary and complementary side plate of charming Ant and Dec based banter - and it won't be the same without it.

Ant announced earlier this year that he would not be appearing on the show and would be taking time out from all work commitments until at least 2019 to focus on overcoming alcohol and painkiller addictions.

In March, the 42-year-old was arrested on suspicion of drink driving after he was involved in a collision with another vehicle in Richmond, London. He pleaded guilty in April and was fined £86,000 and banned from driving for 20 months.

So where does this leave this year's I'm A Celebrity?

Holly Willoughby is stepping in to co-present alongside Declan Donnelly and there is no reason to believe she won't do a stellar job.

Indeed, her on-screen relationship with Phillip Schofield on This Morning in many ways mirrors the playful and almost telepathic bond Ant and Dec share.

But while Willoughby may be an able deputy, there is no substitute for a chemistry forged over almost 30 years. Together the former Byker Grove boys have garnered huge popularity as a duo, presenting hit programmes such as Pop Idol, Britain's Got Talent and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, amassing a shed-load of TV awards along the way.

Arguably, the pair are at their best on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! though, where they essentially perform a double act routine, interspersed between clips from the camp.

They also massively enhance the trials, saying what the nation is thinking as they stand to the side, sniggering like a pair of cheeky schoolboys.

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Undoubtedly, it will be possible to enjoy watching Harry Redknapp put his hand in a box of pumas without Ant looking on nearby, and Willoughby will likely bring something different to the show.

We just need to be mindful of the fact it definitely won't be the same.

The full I'm a Celebrity line-up reads as follows:

Harry Redknapp (Football manager)

Sair Khan (Coronation Street star)

Nick Knowles (TV presenter)

Fleur East (Singer)

James McVey (Singer)

Anne Hegerty ('The Governess' on The Chase)

Malique Thompson-Dwyer (Hollyoaks actor)

Emily Atack (Comedy actor from The Inbetweeners)

John Barrowman MBE (Actor and entertainer)

Rita Simons (Actor)

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: UK News, TV and Film, Celebrity, Holly Willougby, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me, Australia, I'm A Celebrity, Ant and Dec

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey