He’s only hosted three seasons of the reality show, but it’s hard to imagine I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! without Robert Irwin. The wildlife warrior began hosting the series alongside Julia Morris in 2024 following Dr Chris Brown’s departure, and as if it’s even possible, Aussies fell even more in love with him.
His fanbase reached new heights last year when he competed in (and won) Dancing With The Stars in the US, and many predicted he would permanently move overseas to pursue new opportunities. Others also speculated that our national treasure would be negatively impacted by his increased level of fame or that Hollywood had changed him for the worse.
Thankfully, we can all breathe a sigh of relief as his I’m A Celeb co-host has asserted this isn’t true. Julia told PEDESTRIAN.TV that, while his whirlwind experience in the US “definitely” changed him, it was actually for the better.
“Coming back from America, I think it cracked open his heart,” she said. “I think it moved him in ways that will not even present themselves until it starts to get still a little bit around him.
“There’s no way he would have had that chance to properly celebrate and process that entire four months of hardcore exercise and shooting.”
The comedian and long-time host went on to say that the last two years working with Robert have been “absolutely incredible” and she’s forever amazed by his skills.
“We have been blown away by the sort of ease that he has not only taken on this role, but made it his own,” she continued. “When a role has been somebody else’s for so long, and you take over, it’s very difficult to put your own stamp on it without it just looking like you’re homaging the other person, and Robert has been himself since the very first frame — as he should be.
“He’s been working for a long, long time; of course, he’s going to be confident in the man that he is.”
Robert’s insane filming schedule revealed
As if it wasn’t wild enough that Robert agreed to return to I’m A Celebrity after filming Dancing With The Stars, it turns out the production schedule was much tighter than fans assumed. Julia told P.TV that her co-host went straight from the dance floor to the jungle and “the only break he had was in the air”.
“He finished [DWTS], he flew to New York to do the breakfast shows, he flew from New York directly to Africa, and he started work the next day,” she detailed.
It’s because of this intense turnaround that Julia put it upon herself to ensure Robert was able to ease back into work and have a sense of normalcy on set.
“I said to as many people as I could, ‘Let’s just back up for the first few days and not overwhelm him’, because I’m sure everybody feels like me and just wants to go and give him a massive hug and be like, ‘You’re amazing, oh my god, tell me all about it’, but we had a brutal shoot ahead of us,” she said.
“I told Robert as well, in case it seemed like everyone was staying away. I mean, I love how I’m trying to allow sleep for someone who’s a grown-up! But there were little things we all tried to do, like, if we needed to stay longer to do voice-over bits or stuff like that, I’d be like, ‘You go first so you can go home’.”
TL;DR Robert and Julia and work bestie goals, and I won’t let anyone tell me otherwise! The 2026 season has well and truly kicked off with a bang, with Deni Hines and Cyrell Paule butting heads, George Calombaris opening up about his wage scandal and, of course, plenty of disgusting challenges.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! continues Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 7.30pm, and Sunday at 7pm. Watch + Stream Free On 10.
