It seems as though boyband fever may be reaching the wilds of Canada, as it’s been reported that I’m a Celebrity spin-off, The Wild Frontier, has signed up its first starry contestants.
The Sun reports that ITV have wooed Brian McFadden of Westlife fame and Boyzone’s Keith Duffy into being the first pair of contestants to scribble across the dotted line for the new series.
According to the publication, McFadden and Duffy have agreed to a “lucrative deal”, with each set to earn £100,000 for their stints on the show.
Radio Times has approached ITV for comment.
The format of the new show differs from the original as contestants will no longer compete as campmates but in pairs, whether it be as friends, couples or relatives. So, it tracks that McFadden and Duffy could be on course to join as mates.
Although the pair found fame in their respective separate boy bands, McFadden has gone on to appear in Dancing on Ice and Strictly Come Dancing’s 2025 Christmas special amongst other presenting gigs and releasing solo music. Duffy has also gone on to act in Coronation Street and Fair City.
But the pair have also now gone on to release music as duo Boyzlife. Talking about their group and releasing new original music together, Duffy says on their website: “The whole concept of the band at the start was that we wanted to do an autobiographical show.
“Instead of doing what everybody else does and write their life experiences through the music business in a book for people to read, we decided to actually tell people the stories out loud.”
He went on: “To put together a set list and not do any stories was easy because we had so many hit songs; every song we do is a hit song.
“We started off playing small venues and now we’re doing these beautiful theatres around the world. We have a full live band behind us. We’ve got all the bells and whistles: pyro, special effects… We do the whole thing now.”
Read more:
- Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa officially a real life doctor after receiving special accolade
- Silo season 3 showrunner reveals political reason for key character change
According to a TV insider for The Sun, they said of the rumoured news: “Bosses are delighted that Keith and Brian will be taking part, they’ll each bring a lot of fun and mischief to the camp.
“The casting team are hopeful they can cast celebrity duos, but may also include some stars and their non-famous family members or partners.”
As for now, we’ll just have to wait and see if McFadden and Duffy will be on our screens in the new I’m a Celebrity format – and if so, just who will join them in the rest of the cast.
The Wild Frontier will once again be hosted by the main show’s presenters Ant & Dec and is set to take place in the Canadian wilderness, with recent reports that it may be filmed in the heart of grizzly bear country, in the Callaghan Valley of Whistler Olympic Park.
Want to see this content?
This page contains content provided by Google reCAPTCHA. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as Google reCAPTCHA may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose ‘Accept and continue’ to allow Google reCAPTCHA and its required purposes.
Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
