The Ade Adepitan I’m A Celebrity move would put one of Britain’s best-loved broadcasters into the Australian jungle, with the Paralympian and television presenter named among the 12 reported campmates for the 2026 series. The Sun revealed the reported line-up, according to Hello Rayo on 6 November, and Capital Xtra also lists Adepitan among the campmates heading to Murwillumbah.
Crucially, the line-up is reported, not confirmed: ITV has yet to officially announce any names, though it is expected to do so within days. The show returns on Monday 16 November at 9pm on ITV1, hosted by Ant and Dec, for a run of around three weeks.
A jungle first
If the reports are right, the 53-year-old will reportedly make history as the first I’m A Celebrity contestant to use a wheelchair. Adepitan contracted polio as an infant, which left him unable to walk, and reports say producers have been working to adapt the camp for accessibility.
That detail alone makes him one of the most intriguing signings of the series. The jungle is built around physical trials, river crossings and narrow walkways, so a wheelchair-using campmate changes the shape of the show itself, not just its cast list. How the camp adapts, and how Adepitan handles the bush tucker trials, will be among the first things viewers look for.
From Athens bronze to the BBC
Adepitan was born Adedoyin Olayiwola Adepitan in Lagos, Nigeria, on 27 March 1973, and moved to East London at the age of three. He became a wheelchair basketball player for Great Britain, winning bronze at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens and gold at the 2005 Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, and was made an MBE in 2005 for services to disability sport.
His broadcasting career has run for more than two decades, from children’s television and The Travel Show to co-presenting Channel 4’s Paralympics coverage and the BBC’s Children in Need appeal since 2016. He has fronted travel documentaries including Africa with Ade Adepitan and Climate Change: Ade on the Frontline, and in August 2024 he was named Chancellor of Birmingham City University, succeeding Sir Lenny Henry.
What viewers can expect
Adepitan is a warm, funny and fiercely competitive presence on screen, and the jungle tends to reward exactly that mix. Away from television he is married to singer Linda Harrison, who performs as Elle Exxe; the couple married at St Paul’s Cathedral in 2018 and have a son born in 2021. He is also a devoted West Ham United supporter and season ticket holder.
Camp life will test him in ways no studio ever has, but if any campmate arrives with experience of performing under pressure, it is the man who has already won Paralympic bronze and presented live television to millions. The jungle, for once, may have met its match.
