Ofcom dismisses complaints of animal cruelty on I'm A Celebrity

Animal rights campaigners got pretty worked up about some of the Bushtucker trials in this year’s I’m A Celebrity – but Ofcom are having none of it.

The broadcasting watchdog has announced that it will taking no further action following 51 complaints from the public over some of this year’s more unsavoury challenges.

“We assessed a number of complaints about the tasks given to contestants,” an Ofcom spokesperson said in a statement.

“However, these were in keeping with the well-established format of this reality series, and were unlikely to have exceeded the expectations of the audience.”

Which basically means it’s all fine because they do it every year, as far as we can tell.

Outrage at the mistreatment of animals is pretty much a regular result of the show’s annual run these days, and Peta issued a statement blasting the show back in November.

“I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! producers really have no imagination,” they told The Sun. “Each season looks like a rerun of the prior season’s vile treatment of animals.

“Beetles might not be seen as cute and cuddly, but just like other animals, they feel pain and fear.

“We live in an age of innovation – any filmmaker or television producer worth his or her salt can entertain audiences without having to resort to abject cruelty, which makes ITV look even more out of touch.”

Out of touch? Whatever your feelings about the ethics of the show, a look at the viewing figures might suggest that’s probably not the case.