We Chatted To Julia Morris About What It’s Like Behind-The-Scenes Of ‘I’m A Celeb’
An international TV megastar, a “leading lady”, a footy legend with a larrikin streak, a blonde reality TV star, and a Logie-winning DJ have all signed up for I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!. Those are our first clues, and they don’t give much away.
But Julia Morris won’t be pressed for predictions on who these ~mysterious~ celebrities could be. That means, unfortunately, that we will not know 100% if Lindsay Lohan will be blessing our screens again until January.
In the meantime, there’s plenty to ponder – who is the Australian actor/DJ? Which Love Island or Bach in Paradise blonde wants another chance at Insta fame? Will Honey Badger make a last-ditch effort at redemption as the “footy legend”? Does The Living Room‘s Miguel, every mum’s fave and the first confirmed I’m a Celeb contestant, know what he signed up for?
Punkee spoke to Australia’s fun aunt to get the goss on what actually goes on in the South African jungle.
Here’s what Julia Morris had to say about season six of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!:
On being rubbish at working out the clues too
“I can never work out from the clues who it is until I see who it is, and then I’m like, ‘Oh my God, how did I not get that?’
“I don’t get swept up in [the speculation] because it’ll drive me crazy not knowing, and then I’ll wanna ring and find out who’s going… Almost the first night I think about the clues is when I find out who’s going in.
“We have the option of knowing, Dr. Chris and I, but we have a bit of a tradition going on that the night that we arrive in Africa, we have a little drink with some of the producers and we find out one by one who’s going in.”
On how sometimes her mates hit her up to see if they should go on I’m a Celebrity…
“Every year we’ve got a couple of mates who are in there. You can’t spend this long in the industry without knowing pretty much everyone.
“I have a really good think about who it is and where they’re up to in their lives. I always give whoever contacts me the advice, ‘Just know what you’re like when you’re tired and hungry. Because if you are the sort of person that turns, like I do, I would say [this show’s] probably not for you.’ When I’m tired and hungry, I can get vicious. I’m not sure that that’s the sort of person I wanna show on the telly.
“If you can keep it together, then, oh my God, go for it, because it’s gonna be amazing. It is life-altering for every single person that goes in there, regardless of the sort of success they have after the show. It is a real personal triumph in resilience… There are not many opportunities in life to truly test our resilience, because as soon as things aren’t very comfortable we change circumstances.”
On how her resilience is also tested on the show
“Even though we are not bereft of food or a comfortable place to sleep, we are all away from our families for an extended period of time, and we are all working psychotic hours.
“I feel like we also test our resilience when we’re away in the jungle, away from foods you like, away from friends, away from summertime, away from January vacation month when everybody’s off and everyone’s chilling. There’s no better time to catch up with buddies than that, but we’re just never in the country. We certainly haven’t been for six years. It is its own trial, even though it is a great deal of fun. There’s something about the mania of working that hard that makes you really long for it and look forward to going back.”
On whether she could cope in the South African jungle
“In years gone by I’ve said I don’t think that I could handle it. My problem would be if someone was annoying me. I don’t think I would respond very well or very kindly… I think that’s the bit that I would find difficult, not the hunger. That doesn’t really bother me. I think eating all that weird stuff, I’m always fascinated that our celebrities are willing to do that for the other celebrities. I would just be like, ‘Who cares if we don’t eat tonight?’ I’m not sure that I would be very successful in the jungle, so I admire those who are.”
On how the different celebs each year keeps I’m a Celebrity… from getting stale
“It’s ten different people to get to know, so there’s nothing the same because it’s tailor-made for the people that are in there. So no two series are ever the same. Yes, they’re in the same location, and yes, there might be some similar trials, but the way people respond is the real edge to why it’s so different every year.”
On having no time to work on her 2020 stand-up show, I’m Not Even Joking, when she’s on set
“There is no downtime. By the time we get home, you just honestly you don’t even know if you want to sit or cry or laugh or poo or eat –you just don’t know what to do, you’re so tired. Your eyes are hot at all times. The fatigue is in another league.
“I definitely talk about experiences of when we’re away [in my stand-up], but it’s certainly not a huge part of the hour-and-a-half on stage. It’s a little bit because there’s gonna be I’m a Celebrity… fans in the audience, but there are so many more stories to tell.”
I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! starts on Channel 10 on January 5.