Ten mercilessly mocked over Challenge Australia’s ‘celeb’ line-up

Ten has assembled “Australia’s most talked-about celebs” for its next reality TV offering. But as one viewer put it: “Some of them have less followers than me.”

A new all-star reality series coming soon to 10 will unite a mammoth list of Australian reality stars for one intense new challenge.

Coming soon to Ten, The Challenge Australia will feature reality hopefuls from everything from Survivor to Ninja Warrior, The Bachelor to Big Brother, all competing in intense new challenges for a big cash prize.

The show is actually a tried-and-tested international format, having aired 38 seasons in other countries.

But its debut in Australia has not been without controversy before it’s even aired – it’s already been implicated in the downfall of one celebrity relationship, with Abbie Chatfield’s then-boyfriend Konrad Bien-Stephen reportedly telling his fellow contestants he was “single” during filming. (Cue a very public break-up).

And Ten’s social media announcements touting the list of cast members as “Australia’s most talked-about celebrities” have been met with some derision, given the 22 “stars” on offer are, for the most part, the sort of D-listers who will happily record you a personal greeting on Cameo for spare change.

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These are Australia’s most talked-about celebs, apparently.

“Incredibly proud to say I cannot name a single person there,” one person tweeted in response to Ten’s announcement yesterday.

“Reported to the ACCC for false advertising … Some of these ‘celebs’ have less followers than my old account,” said another.

“I literally know a grand total of zero of these people. Did you run an AI to generate these images?” another asked of the cast line-up.

“Australia’s most talked about celebs? Who are 95% of these people,” tweeted another person.

Here’s the full list of those taking part – and what they’re “famous” for:

The Challenge Australia cast

Brittany Hockley – The Bachelor, Bachelor in Paradise

Jack Vidgen – Australia’s Got Talent, I’m A Celeb, Ninja Warrior, The Masked Singer

Cyrell Paule – MAFS

Ryan Gallagher – MAFS, I’m A Celeb

Brooke Blurton – The Bachelor, Bachelor In Paradise, The Bachelorette

Ciarran Stott – The Bachelorette, Bachelor In Paradise, The Bachelorette Sweden

Brooke Jowett – Australian Survivor, Australian Survivor All Stars

Emily Seebohm – I’m A Celeb, Ninja Warrior, Olympian

David Subritzky – I’m A Celeb

Konrad Bien-Stephen – The Bachelorette

Jessica Brody – The Bachelor, Bachelor in Paradise

Billy Dib – Pro boxer

Suzan Mutesi – Actress / influencer

Troy Cullen – Ninja Warrior

Sugar Neekz Johnson – Pro boxer

Marley Biyendolo – Big Brother

Megan Marx – The Bachelor, Bachelor In Paradise

Kiki Morris – The Bachelor, Bachelor In Paradise

Conor Curran – MasterChef Australia

Johnny Eastoe – Australian Survivor

Audrey Kanongara – Love Island Australia

Grant Crapp – Love Island Australia

Konrad and Abbie broke up after he filmed his stint on the show.

Ten is teasing that the show – hosted by Brihony Dawson and filmed in Buenos Aires, Argentina – will “see an algorithm randomly pair challengers to compete in gruelling physical contests, test strategies, survive eliminations, cutthroat alliances and steamy hook-ups to win daily challenges and eliminate their opponents.”

Gruelling physical contests AND steamy hook-ups? This show has everything.

The last man and woman left standing will be declared Challenge champions, scoring $100,000 each in prize money and securing an entry to The Challenge: Global Championship, where they will both represent Australia while competing with reality stars and influencers from around the world.