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I’m A Celebrity 2026 is pre-recorded – but you can still vote for the winner!

Will there be a King or Queen of the jungle?
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Voting for the I’m A Celebrity Australia 2026 winner is now open — and yes, your vote actually counts, even though the season is pre-recorded.

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The finale airs Sunday, February 22, with three celebrities left standing: Luke Bateman, Gary Sweet, and Concetta Caristo. Viewers can vote for any one of the three to take the crown.

So how does voting work when the finale has already been filmed? Here’s everything you need to know.

Scroll on for all the key details.

Who will your I’m A Celebrity 2026 winner be? (Credit: Channel 10)
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How can I vote for the I’m A Celebrity 2026 final?

Filming for the final episode wrapped on December 23, meaning that voting is taking a different tack this year.

Rather than voting for the eliminations and trials, it is a return to the 2021 series, where viewers were only able to vote for the winner.

New Idea understands that the final has already been filmed and three alternate endings have been recorded, with viewers deciding which of the final three will win.

After the public vote, just one of the recorded endings will air, meaning viewers can still decide which of the three will be the 2026 victor, though they don’t get to vote along the way.

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“It’s clever,” a source told us.

“The cast still feels the pressure, the audience still gets their vote, and production gets the flexibility of a pre-recorded season.”

Voting has already opened, so click here to back your winner!

Will it be Gary, Concetta, or Luke for the win…?

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sam thaiday
NRL legend Sam Thaiday was the winner of I’m A Celeb in 2025. (Credit: Channel Ten)

Why was I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! prerecorded?

The reality series dropped its live format due to budget cuts at Channel 10, according to TV Blackbox.

It is understood that by filming the series in advance, substantial costs were cut because they no longer needed an overnight post-production team.

By scaling down the on-site crew in South Africa and removing the staff responsible for editing the show’s previous live daily turnaround in real-time, Network 10 hoped to save a significant amount of money.

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However, 7News reported that the change left the crew fuming, as the new schedule meant an altered production timeline with no days off.

In financials for the TV station, as reported by the Australian Financial Review, Network 10 recorded a $322.1 million loss in 2023. Given this, it’s not a huge surprise that Network 10 has decided to move away from the live format.

The UK version of the show still airs live every night, and viewers vote for both trials and eliminations, with only the main trials and other elements being prerecorded to provide a complete day timeline.

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