I’m a Celebrity South Africa 2026 returns to ITV on 6 April, filming in the spectacular Blyde River Canyon.
Here’s why this is South Africa’s biggest moment on British television, and why most South Africans don’t even know it’s happening.
We’ve done this before
You know the feeling. You’re watching telly and suddenly a car advert comes on, and there it is: that unmistakable light, a mountain road you recognise, Table Mountain in the background, road markings that are distinctly not British. You shout at the screen. You elbow whoever is sitting next to you. “That’s South Africa! That’s the Boulders! That’s the N2!” Twenty seconds of footage and you’re on your feet.
Now imagine that feeling, but for three weeks straight, every weeknight, in prime time on ITV.
That is what is about to happen.
A global stage, right on our doorstep
I’m a Celebrity… South Africa returns to ITV on 6 April 2026, with Ant and Dec presenting and a live grand final on 24 April. This is not a thirty-second advert. This is a full series, broadcast to millions of British viewers, with South Africa as the backdrop for every single episode.
For South African expats in the UK, this is our moment. And most people back home have absolutely no idea it is even happening.
Where is I’m a Celebrity South Africa filmed?
Here is where I’ll admit something. I grew up in Cape Town. I’m a proud South African. And I will be honest with you: when I first heard this was filmed along the Blyde River, I had to look it up.
Lazy Capetonian. I know.
The show is filmed along the Blyde River in Mpumalanga, in the northeastern corner of the country. The Blyde River Canyon is the third largest canyon in the world, and a landscape so dramatic it genuinely stops people in their tracks. Think towering red cliffs, lush subtropical bush, the Three Rondavels rock formations, and the famous God’s Window viewpoint that looks out over the Lowveld.
For context on just how little we Capetonians venture that far: Mpumalanga sits roughly 1,500km from Cape Town, about four to five hours by car from Johannesburg, and around five hours from Durban. It is essentially Kruger country. It is spectacular. And it is about to become very famous in Britain.
The all-star cast heading into the bush
The returning line-up includes Harry Redknapp, Scarlett Moffatt, Gemma Collins, Sir Mo Farah, Beverley Callard, Sinitta, Craig Charles, Seann Walsh, David Haye, Adam Thomas, Ashley Roberts and Jimmy Bullard.
In a format change for this series, the winner will be decided by a public vote for the first time, with the live grand final broadcast from London on 24 April.
How can South Africans watch I’m a Celebrity 2026?
This is the slightly frustrating part. The show airs on ITV1 in the UK and streams on ITVX, which is geo-restricted to British viewers.
South Africans back home won’t be able to access it directly without a VPN set to a UK location.
There has been no announcement of a local broadcaster picking up the rights, so for now, expats in the UK are the lucky ones. Consider it another perk of living here.
Tell someone back home
If you have family or friends in South Africa, send them this article.
Let them know that the Blyde River Canyon, a landscape many South Africans have never visited, is about to become one of the most watched locations on British television.
That the bush, the cliffs and the African sky they drive past on long weekends are beaming into living rooms across the UK every night for three weeks.
It is worth knowing. It is worth being Proudly South African about.
Follow all things South African in the UK at SAPeople, and catch I’m a Celebrity… South Africa on ITV from 6 April.
James Durrant
www.sapeople.com
