Holly Willoughby's Stint In The Jungle Might NOT Be A One-Off, According To Reports

You wait all year for it, and then in the blink of an eye, it's all over again. That describes both Cadbury's Creme Egg season, as well as I'm A Celeb. This year's season seemed to fly by quicker than ever, but with all of the changes this season, it's hard to know what the future of the show will look like. The show's got plenty of questions to field, but the one which seems most pressing to me now, is whether the show will be continuing and with Holly at the helm. So, will Holly be on I'm A Celebrity 2019?

Nothing concerning season 19 has been confirmed yet, The Mirror reported on Sunday, Dec. 9, following Harry Redknapp's jungle crowning. But as I see it, it's extremely likely I'm A Celeb will return. This season, which saw Ant McPartlin temporarily replaced by Holly Willoughby, drew in the show's highest ratings ever, with 11 million viewers tuning into the season finale, the Radio Times reports. With those kinds of figures, I can't imagine that ITV will want to stop the ball rolling.

According to the Daily Star, the bosses over there have already allegedly said that they're "desperate" for Holly Willoughby to make a return, so it looks as though this train is still chugging. “The top people at ITV are now really keen to get her back next year,” an insider told the Daily Star on Dec. 9. Did your ears also prick up at "next year?"

Willoughby posted her thanks on Instagram following the finale, describing her experience in the jungle as a "dream," and "the most wonderful adventure." She also referred to it as "a one-off bit of heaven," as Metro reports, suggesting it's a one-time thing. In addition, when she announced her participation, she said "These are big shoes, not to fill, but just to keep warm for a little bit," ITV reported at the time. So, her return might all depend on how Ant's feeling, and at the moment, progress seems to be better than expected.

He's been offscreen for around 10 months now, but he'll be returning sooner than anticipated. In an exclusive, The Sun revealed on Nov. 28 that he'll be rejoining Ant for the next season of Britian's Got Talent, which will reportedly begin filming in January, 2019. According to The Sun, he'll be there for both the auditions and the live finals.

So, with Dec's likely return, will Willoughby be ousted so quickly, despite helping to draw in so many viewers? According to the Daily Star's insider, that's not the ITV bosses' intention. "They’re looking into ways of making things work if they had Ant, Dec, and Holly," the source said, adding: “The original plan was for Holly to stand in while Ant was off and then hand the baton back. But she’s been such a success that producers are now keen to keep her whatever happens." Bustle have reached out to representatives of ITV and Holly Willoughby for comment.

The insider also said that a big money offer was expected to be made in March, 2019 to try and lure the three presenters in. They might just be onto something. Ant, Dec, and Holly have been longtime pals, having shared many an ITV studio together, now put them in the jungle next year and let them share plenty of laughs together too. This needs to happen.