Live from the jungle, all in a day’s work.

There’s just no denying the boundless enthusiasm of 21 year old Robert Irwin.

Who else could express such zeal at the thought of starting their work day at 4:30am?

That’s exactly how Irwin and his co-host, the irrepressible Julia Morris, begin their day at the office in the South African jungle for I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

“Getting in early is so cool,” he tells TV Tonight. “You go straight into that morning meeting with the writers and producers, and we all work together to create how the show is going to look.

“You’ve got to remember, it is one of the very few 24 hour shows. It is filming all the time. We’re always recording. Then when we go live, everything’s got to be -to a degree- kind of in place and planned out.

“There’s that sunrise beaming onto the mountain, and you just go, ‘Wow, look what I get to do every morning!'”

“You get out of that meeting and you’re right in the middle of the bush, you look up at the mountain, and there’s that sunrise beaming onto the mountain, and you just go, ‘Wow, look what I get to do every morning!'”

By then it’s barely gone 5:30am, but Irwin is pumped for another day of reality hijinks, as the famous (and a few famous perhaps in their given fields) eat animal delicacies, lie with snakes and jump off cliffaces in a harness, all in the hope of winning money for their chosen charity.

As the seasoned, giddy Morris explains, there is method in their TV madness, going over a script in the morning followed by thorough, generous rehearsal time, given they have Live crosses to Australia despite the timezone differences.

“We look at all of the footage that is going to be used in the show, because obviously that footage is not live. It’s usually one day before, and cut overnight,” she explains.

“So from the 10 things that are prepared, it’s narrowed down, let’s say, to 7 stories that are going into the show. Then we look at the jokes that are attached to it, because they’ve been written overnight. Robert and I (might suggest) ‘Actually, can we cut that out? That sounds mean. Let’s reshape that.’ Or it’s completely perfection, because every day is different.

“I’ve never worked on a show like it before”

“Then from there, I’m five hours in make up and Robert is one second,” she laughs “… and then we head up to studio, and we have the incredible luxury -and I’ve never worked on a show like it before – where we have a full rehearsal time from the beginning of the show till the end of the show. We get to run through it entirely. Whereas oftentimes there’s a rehearsal beforehand, but you never get those last three segments done.”

The live broadcast to Australia (which includes pre-recorded material from camp, plus trials) wraps at midday in South Africa. After lunch the hosts film the next day’s trial, wrapping a long day at around 5pm locally.

“It was such a seamless transition to Robert.”

The pairing of Irwin and Morris was an instant hit with viewers last season, no mean feat given nine seasons of Morris alongside veterinarian Dr. Chris Brown. But Irwin’s experience with animals felt like a natural passing of the baton.

“I love that the animal experience is carried over,” says Morris. “That was something that the doctor had created, where he was absolutely part of bringing the animal side of things into it, which makes sense being in Africa. So it was such a seamless transition to Robert.”

“That’s what makes the show so cool,” Irwin agrees, “the fact that the celebrities are in pretty crazy conditions, and they’re really going through it. There’s so many trials and challenges, but if there’s one group that works on that shoot that is treated incredibly well, and the red carpet is rolled out for them every time, it’s the animals. The animals that are working on that show, the snakes that come in, the birds -whatever it is- they are all so well taken care of.

“It was interesting talking to some of the animal crew. They do a lot of wildlife rescue in the local area. Our charity supports conservation work just down the road from where we shoot the show. So yeah, that animal aspect was already there, hugely. So I got to step in, and hopefully we can amplify that message even further.”

By the time the duo hit screens last year, Irwin’s hosting skills had already been well-honed across years of television experience. From his first screen performance at the age of 6 on Free Willy: Escape from Pirate’s Cove to co-hosting on Discovery Kids Channel, Animal Planet and late night US TV appearances, I’m a Celebrity was a natural progression.

“It’s always been part of my life. This was such a such a fun, new challenge, and at this point in my life, it’s really the spice of life to try new stuff,” he insists.

“There’s 600 people in this crew.”

“It was so, so thrilling that first episode, but we immediately knew that it was going to be something really special. And I think all of that was just to do with our dynamic. We’re just good mates. So it just worked out from the get go. And I was really, really humbled to be taken in. It’s such a family environment over there. There’s 600 people in this crew. It is a massive undertaking, but everyone is there to just support each other and make a show that we can all get behind and all have a laugh.”

Prior to his 2024 debut, there was even chatter that Morris potentially flirting with Irwin on camera might be a bridge too far, given their age gap. Few observers had given both some credit for finding a new rhythm to go with their pairing.

“We were all about creating something new.”

“To be a truly amazing comedian, you can adapt to every single situation and that’s exactly what Julia does,” Irwin continues. “I mean, her comedic style can adapt on a dime, so incredibly quickly. So one dynamic you have with someone is going to be completely different to the dynamic you have with someone else. And so this was from the beginning honouring an amazing legacy that (Julia) and Dr Chris created. But we were all about creating something new.”

Morris adds, “We had an existing friendship, so to then work out how that was going to work between us, flirting had never been a part of that. But nor had that flirting been a part of other shows I’ve worked, I don’t think…. oh, maybe that’s not true. I don’t know.

“Opening night we just wanted to get there and do it, because, as the world turns Robert and I would have reasonably similar experiences on camera: writing, producing our work ourselves. So it was just a slightly different side-step for Robert…. the fact that it was Robert, to me, was just like, ‘I think we’ve got another five years in this format.'”

I’m a Celebrity Get me Out of Here returns 7pm Sunday on 10.