Who are the candidates in the jungle camp?

An the evening of January 9, 2004, the Federal Republic is covered in uncomfortable sleet – and Gerhard Schröder is Chancellor. But there are also happier events. Turkey, for example, is abolishing the death penalty. To compensate, RTL is starting its quality offensive on the other side of the world. The “I’m a star – get me out of here!” format, popularly known as “jungle camp,” broadcasts live from Australia and ensures both ratings and disgust highlights. The culinary accessories in particular will go down in the annals of television culture. Suddenly the nation is watching, mesmerized (or, to make it feel better, ironic), slightly washed-up ex-celebrities with their own bankruptcy court clerks as they eat things in the tropical rainforest surroundings of New South Wales that average Western Europeans have previously considered at best as a curse word knew: bull sperm, pig penis, goat anus, giant maggots, barf fruit, deer testicles or crocodile eye.

Today, 19 years later, these ameuse yucks, i.e. disgusting greetings from the jungle kitchen, continue to be a central part of the #IBES fascination, as the “jungle camp” is now hash-tagged for social media. And so in January 2024, twelve elite candidates from the top echelons of the attention industry will traditionally gather around the jungle campfire to spend two weeks humiliating themselves in jungle tests, being made fun of by the moderation duo Sonja Zietlow and Jan Köppen and being voted out by the viewers as a thank you let. For the current Vomier Festival, Trash TV national coach Dr. Bob appointed the following squad this year:

Anya Elsner

Not Frank Elsner's daughter. Especially since his name is Elstner anyway. A historical family tree connection to Hannelore Elsner cannot be determined with certainty. The only thing that is clear is that Anya came fifteenth in the model ranking in the 18th season of “Germany's Next Top Model” in 2023, but first in the side-eye game. The house blessing is still going wrong before the jungle moves in: Anya's own mother publicly threatens to sue if Anya talks about her in the jungle.

Cora Schumacher

Was initially married to Ralf Schumacher (who many still know as Christoph Gottschalk of motorsports), but later found her true love: reality TV. She completed stations such as “Celebrity Big Brother” or “Club der Gute Mood”, where she briefly warmed up Marc Terenzi for Verena Kerth. Things come full circle here, because where did Kerth and Terenzi get engaged last year? Exactly: in the jungle camp. However, it is unlikely that Kerth will receive 6 million euros from Terenzi after a separation, like Cora supposedly from Ralf Schumacher.

David Odonkor

The short-distance sprinter became famous in 2006 when he accidentally strayed into Dortmund's Westfalenstadion during a training session for the 100-meter Olympic Games qualification. There, in a fit of panic, he hit a leather ball that happened to be in the way at full speed into the penalty area, which Oliver Neuville then sank into the Polish goal for the winning goal. Since then he has often been mistaken for a footballer.

Fabio Knez

Looks a bit like a mix between Jesus and Olli Dittrich. By “two chairs, one opinion” he means turbulent indigestion, which is to be expected in sensitive candidates from the typical jungle camp bland diet of rice and beans and profile neurosis.

Felix von Jascheroff

He's already a grandfather at just 41 years old. It has been part of the RTL educational soap “Good Times, Bad Times” for almost that long, namely since 2001. If his genes continue to reproduce at this rate, he'll be a great-grandfather by the time he's 60. Even the Wollnys are amazed.