I’m A Celebrity 2024: Stars refuse to shower nude after last year

A cold, open-air shower hovers over the gym and dishwasing area at the camp site deep in the South African jungle, free for those brave enough to have a nude tub on national TV.

Campmates on last year’s season had no qualms about stripping off, including Domenica Calarco, Aesha Scott, Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson and Harry Garside – tasteful shots of their individual butts ultimately making it to air.

And while the footage is all relatively PG, modest bum clips were enough to scare off this season’s celebs, most of whom told news.com.au they refused to go nude at any point during the show – despite how dirty they get.

“No way [will I shower naked],” Gold Coast influencer Skye Wheatley told news.com.au before she went into camp late last month.

“My partner was like, ‘You are a mother!’

“I definitely will only be showering in bikinis. I don’t think people need to see that. I keep my bits to myself.”

Retired ironwoman Candice Warner echoed the sentiment, affirming she would “clean appropriately” from the comfort of a swimsuit.

Former Studio 10 host Tristan Macmanus, having played rugby in his youth, was slightly more open-minded to the idea of going starkers, though conceded he’s not even comfortable showering at home when his own children venture into the bathroom.

In fact, the only celeb who said they would embrace a nude shower this season was Denise Drysdale, who entered camp as an intruder on Monday’s episode.

The 75-year-old showbiz veteran told us she was fine with taking her kit off with cameras around.

“When I was building a house, we had a caravan we lived in with an outdoor shower,” she said.

“All the wiggly worms used to come out and into the shower, and the first night was awful, but by the third night, I’d named them all.

“But, if someone can see me nude, I’ll probably yell, ‘I’m a celebrity, get me out of here!’”

The naked shower stakes were much lower when this writer went into the jungle as a stand-in alongside other members of Australian media a few days before the actual celebs showed up.

During the first challenge on day one, we were pummelled with cockroaches, mealworms, dirt and unidentifiable goo, all while sweating in 36C heat for hours.

And so, shortly after arriving in camp for the night – mealworms setting up residence in my hair – I made the very difficult decision to have a nude shower. There’s no need to be weird about it. (It’s me, I’m being weird about it).

While, thankfully, there’s no risk of my butt making it to air, the ramifications of my choices became evident during a work meeting with the network’s production team the next afternoon.

As producers casually discussed having to sift through hours of the test camp footage (the team literally watch every single moment), it dawned on me. They’ve seen.

I quietly began taking fake notes as though I was carving scrimshaw, avoided eye contact like the plague and fought a strong urge to dive into the nearest pond and start a new life with the hippos.

Jokes aside, it’s fair to understand why something as natural as showering naked is not for everyone who signs onto the show.

I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! airs Sunday-Thursday on Channel 10 at 7.30pm