The rules of the Jungle: How to win I’m a Celeb

But fear not - the perfect antidote is here. The Jungle is back, with 12 z-listers ready to nibble on kangaroo toe nails and generally humiliate themselves on national telly. What could be better?

There’s a real mix of contestants this year, from TV veteran Larry Lamb (Gavin's Dad in Gavin & Stacey) to maths brain Carol Vorderman.

Gogglebox’s Scarlett Moffatt is currently bookies favourite to win, due to her one liners and melodramatic reactions. But what does it really take to win ‘I’m a celeb’, aside from a penchant for boiled frog bums?

We’ve spoken to psychotherapist Lynn Greenwood and psychologist Dr Becky Spelman about what it really takes to win over an audience, and leave with the much-coveted crown.

Rule 1: Be entertaining, obvs

You’re on TV folks, and no one’s tuning in to watch you nap round the campfire.

We want to laugh, cry and shout at our TVs– and we’ll love you for making that happen.

According to Becky, we warm to extrovert personalities for evoking an extreme emotion in us, whether that’s shock, humour or outrage.

There’s been plenty of pure entertainment from the Jungle over the years, with some of the highlights including:

Joey Essex's inability to read the time

Stee Davis taking a tumble...to Ant and Dec's great amusement

Rule 2: Be a team player

A big part of ‘I’m a Celeb’ is the gory challenges. If you don’t throw yourself into it and take risks for your team, it could cost you your crown.

As Lynne explains,

“Someone who comes across as quite fragile can be picked on, to see if they can come through this. If they don’t put themselves up for it, not only do they lose support from people there, they lose support of people at home”.

What better example than Gillian McKeith in series 10, who was accused of faking a faint to get out of a challenge. The public called her on it, voting her for the very next challenge before voting her out.

Rule 3: Have a story arc

It’s no secret that we love an underdog, and audiences really get behind someone they can see developing over time.

As Becky tells me, “Taking the audience on a journey with you evokes real emotion”.

When it comes to watching someone overcome a real struggle, there can be no better example than Dean Gaffney’s trip to the jungle spa of horror.

You’ll always have a gold star in our hearts for this Dean.

Rule 4: Sex sells

Who can forget the iconic moment of Myleene Klass and her white bikini (later sold off to charity for £7, 500). She may not have won, but it sparked a lucrative swimwear career.

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Less iconic but haunting nonetheless, was Matthew Wright’s homage to that same moment.

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But be warned – flaunt your sex appeal too overtly, and viewers will perceive it as a manipulative, choreographed move done with only your career in mind.

But you’d never dream of entering the jungle just to further your career, surely?

Rule 5: Challenge Stereotypes

We all have preconceptions about people we meet for the first time. And for most celebrities, we never really get beyond that official persona.

Until that is, they get to the jungle. We see stars behaving completely differently to how we’d expected, challenging our perceived stereotypes.

As Lynne tells me, “When you hear a posh voice or an Essex accent, that brings up a picture of someone. And when that’s contradicted people really find that interesting”.

Serious journo Michael Buerk has to win here, when he not only dressed up as a giant parrot, but also got his rap on with Tinchy Stryder.

Rule 6: Get loved up

Finding a beau in the jungle doesn't just mean someone to balance out the hammock. According to Becky, being in a relationship can make you a more appealing proposition to an audience, who can immerse themselves in your intimate moments.

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“When people look at celebs they tend idolize them, or look at them with envy or fantasy. That can be escapism for the person, who can lose themselves in the fantasy world and romance of the celebrity.”

But be warned – sometimes the public tend to side with one half of your couple.

“It can be survival of the fittest. The strongest personality, or one with the greatest entertainment value always wins, or the one perceived as the nicest person in the couple”.

We’re fickle like that.

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Rule 7: Be relatable

Easier said than done, admittedly.

As Becky says, “We tend to vote for the celebrities we most want to be like- or whose character traits we see in ourselves”.

So if, for example, a celebrity talks candidly about their anxiety disorder, and you have an anxiety disorder, you’re more likely to empathise with that character – and to make excuses for their behaviour.

Class also has a real role.

“If someone is extremely upper class or affluent, it does alienate people. It’s hard to then see the person like a ‘friend’, and celebrities who are the most popular are the ones you can image being mates with, or having a drink with”.

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Rule 8: Don’t underestimate your audience

We’re a savvy bunch. So if you’re giving us gameplay, we’re going to see right through it.

In fact, best to take all this advice, print it out and set it on fire, as the overwhelming guidance from the experts to clinch the crown is to just be yourself.

Your Mum really has been right all these years.

The winners we love are goofy, funny, eccentric, but overwhelmingly authentic characters. Sure, you can pretend to be someone else for a bit – but good luck holding up that charade on a diet of beans for a month.

As Lynne says,

“The public are going to see you, warts and all. Any mask you attempt to wear will inevitably slip, and that will turn the audience off you”.

So with all that in mind, who are you backing for Celeb Jungle ’16? Tell us @bbcthree.