I'm A Celebrity is losing one of its most famous faces - after 20 years on the show.
The ITV show is returning to its home of Australia this year, with Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly taking the reigns as the show moves from Wales, where it has been hosted since the beginning of the Covid pandemic. The programme, fronted by the presenting duo, will be broadcasted this winter once again with Brits back to envying the beautiful weather in Oz.
Ahead of the new series, it has been revealed that Medic Bob, who has become a well known face amongst viewers, will not return this year as he is too busy. Instead, he will be replaced by another medic who won't be shown on screen.
A spokesperson for ITV said: "Bob will always be a friend to the show. We wish him all the very best and thank him for his hard work."
Medic Bob has a number of other TV jobs, including appearing as a medic on the German version of the show as well as travelling around Australia for a special TV series. He has become too busy to do the UK version, The Sun reports.
"It’s unthinkable to imagine the show without Medic Bob," a source said of the much-loved star.
Ant and Dec previously confirmed the show would be back in Australia.
"The plan is, we’re going back to Australia, we don’t want to go elsewhere. It’s got to go back to it. Back to its spiritual home, back to where it all started. Everyone wants to see a bit of sunshine at that time of year on the telly," Ant revealed.
Dec added of the show returning to its 'spiritual' home: "If they’ll let us in the country, we’ll be back in. We had two lovely years in Wales, we really enjoyed our time in Wales, but this show has to be in Australia, we have to go back."
Gwrych Castle confirmed via their Twitter account that they wouldn't be hosting the show anymore, as they wrote at the time: "It was such an honour to host I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! for the last two years. As a small charity, we will always be grateful to ITV and I’m A Celebrity for the opportunity to host one of the most watched shows in the UK.
"The show has showcased the true beauty of the Castle to millions of people, and has enabled us to carry out urgent repairs after years of neglect, vandalism and arson. We have a huge amount to do to bring the Castle back to its former glory, but we’re excited for the future. We will continue to collaborate with ITV and I’m A Celebrity, and we still have many items and set pieces in place from the past the 2 years such as The Clink, the I’m A Celebrity throne, privy and the telephone box."
