Holly Willoughby's ‘I’m A Celebrity’ Debut Gets Mixed Reviews, But One Thing Viewers Do Agree On Is That They All Miss Ant

'Holly and Dec will never be Ant and Dec but she's an amazing replacement.'
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Holly Willoughby’s ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ debut on Sunday night generated mixed reviews from viewers of the ITV show.

But one thing everyone agreed on was that they missed regular host Ant McPartlin.

Holly is presenting the jungle-based reality show alongside Ant’s usual partner in crime Declan Donnelly as Ant continues his recovery following his arrest for drink driving, which resulted in an £86,000 fine and a driving ban.

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Holly Willoughby and Declan Donnel
Rex

Holly was first confirmed for the show back in August, saying at the time: “I couldn’t be more excited to have been asked to stand alongside Dec for the next jungle adventure.

“I love Ant and want to send him my best wishes and support for a continued recovery. These are big shoes, not to fill, but just to keep warm for a little bit...

“When is it a good time to tell Dec I’m scared of everything that moves?!”

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Ant (left) with Holly and Dec.
PA Archive/PA Images

There was a lot of love for Holly and Ant on Twitter...

Some people were a little confused...

While others just couldn’t get their heads round Holly standing next to Dec (or shouting out that opening line)...

Ahead of the 10 celeb’s arrival to the jungle camps, four of the stars were tasked with the first challenge of the series.

After arriving by helicopter, John Barrowman, Rita Simons, Sair Khan and James McVey were split into two separate teams, with John and Sair named the founding members of the red team and Rita and James the founding members of the yellow team. 

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They then had to complete a number of challenges before entering camp, with the aim of building a team along the way.

The winners of each challenge was given the chance to pick their teammates from the all-star line-up.

John, Rita, Sair and James’ first challenge was The Edge - reportedly the highest task ever seen on the show - and saw them climbing two towers strutting out from the edge of a cliff in to collect as many flags as possible. 

The new series of ‘I’m A Celebrity’ got off to a wet and windy start after a huge storm hit the jungle before the stars arrived.

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Grim.
Rex

The bad weather flooded the show’s Croc Creek and Snake Rock camps, soaking all utensils and sleeping areas.

‘I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!’ airs at 9pm on ITV. every week day.