Former MAFS star Martha Kalifatidis has turned down a massive pay cheque to join the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! cast for 2025.
A production source spilled to Daily Mail that producers have been trying to entice the influencer into the South African jungle for years, but she’s decided it’s too much of a risk — even though they’re willing to shell out the big bucks.
“They’ve been trying to recruit Martha for ages,” the insider said, revealing that Channel 10 offered her a whopping $80,000 and other perks.
“Producers were so desperate [to get Martha] they were willing to negotiate flexible terms about how long she needed to stay on the show, and advantages during the challenges,” they continued.
“She’s always been at the top of their wishlist, but she’s cautious about how it might affect her image.”
According to the production source, Martha is aware that her public persona is her livelihood, and she “doesn’t want to do any damage” to her image.
She’s previously spoken about turning the show down in 2020, when her manager warned her from joining the reality show.
“My manager told me, ‘They’re just going to pick on you. You’ll be the ‘beauty girl’ under a magnifying glass,” Martha revealed on Kyle and Jackie O.
“I was [also] asked to do Big Brother… just the regular version.”
Even without Martha heading to the jungle, there are a bunch of other rumoured contestants that will be sure to spice up our screens.
Heavily rumoured to be breaking her way to South Africa is Olympic breaker Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn, who would certainly entertain the wildlife with her kangaroo hops.
MasterChef’s Melissa Leong, musical theatre kid Rob Mills, comedian Sam Pang and Jessica Mauboy are also in the mix. And as for the big international superstar? Well, the streets are saying Sabrina the Teenage Witch’s Melissa Joan Hart could be making a magical appearance!
You can check out all the I’m A Celeb casting tea here to get up to speed.
Lead image: Getty
