From the balmy poolside temperatures in South Africa to a gothic castle in the Scottish Highlands, 2023 has plenty of TV treats in store for reality telly fans.

This year is truly the year of reality. Forget your gritty dramas or sports fixtures, event TV for 2023 will be ruled by bikini-clad singletons on Love Island, a castle stuffed with Faithfuls and Traitors and the return of Big Brother himself.

Throw in a hugely anticipated all-star series to celebrate 20 years of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, and your telly schedule for the next 12 months is complete.

So when will your favourites be back on screens? Put your feet up, settle down and get ready to tune in. 

Love Island

After years of disruption thanks to Covid, this year is the first year in the ITV2 show’s history that two series will air.

The second ever Winter series kicked off this week with a new cast of singletons currently living the dream in a luxury villa in South Africa.

But there’s another season of single antics to come, when the show returns for his original summer run.

The summer series will head to Mallorca with new host Maya Jama back to preside over the drama for an eight week run.

‘Love Island’ has once again proved itself to be the nation’s favourite talking point across the summer, and we’re always blown away by the show’s ongoing impact and talkability amongst our younger audience,’ said Paul Mortimer, director of reality commissioning and controller at ITV2 last year. 

‘So, rather than just serving up a Summer of Love, we thought we’d make 2023 the Year of Love with two full [seasons] of the show.’ 

Love Island has been a ratings juggernaut since the series was rebooted back in 2015, with the wildly popular 2017 series – won by Amber Davies and Kem Cetinay – making the show a national institution.

The 2017 show saw phrases such as ‘my type on paper’, ‘putting my eggs in one basket’ and ‘I used to be in Blazin’ Squad’ embraced by the national consciousness.

The show has sparked spawned countless long term couplings, and resulted in four weddings and seven babies. 

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here All Stars

The Ant and Dec fronted ITV sensation I’m A Celeb has ruled the ratings in its traditional November schedule slot for two decades.

But in a shakeup, an additional series is coming to the channel this year.

To celebrate over 20 years of celebs in the jungle, a pre-recorded all-stars series is arriving on screens ‘sometime in 2023’.

There is no confirmed air date yet but we do know the series is in the can, with Ant and Dec and a group of past contestants jetting to South Africa last September to shoot the show.

It’s been all but confirmed that 2008 champion Joe Swash is taking part, after his wife, and fellow I’m A Celeb star Stacey Solomon, revealed he was away from home last September working on a secret project.

Joe was later spotted flying home from South Africa. He will be reportedly by joined in the jungle by Myleene Klass, Jordan Banjo, Helen Flanagan and Paul Burrell.

Presenters Ant and Dec confirmed that they were filming in South Africa for the brand new spin-off with a social media post back in September.

Revealing the exciting news on Twitter they wrote: ‘South Africaaaaaaa! That’s right, we’re filming a very special version of I’m A Celebrity in South Africa which is coming to your tellies in 2023.’

Alongside the tweet, a video showed the telly duo who spoke on some rocky terrain with some scenic mountains and water surrounding them, saying: ‘We’ve got some news’. 

Describing it as the ‘worst kept secret in telly’, Dec continues: ‘We can confirm that we’re doing a very special series of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! In South Africa!

‘It’s going to be your favourite celebrities from the last 20 years who are going back in to do it one more time.’ 

Big Brother

The original reality show which kickstarted the genre has been off screens for five years since it was axed in 2018 after 18 years.

But after a relentless campaign from an army of loyal fans Big Brother has found a new home on ITV2. 

While it was originally tipped to air in March, the programme has been delayed due to the sheer number of entertainment shows airing on ITV at the start of 2023, such as winter Love Island and the All Stars edition of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! 

An ITV spokesperson told MailOnline back in October that ‘owing to the influx of big reality TV programming on air during the first half of 2022 we have taken the decision to move the transmission of Big Brother to a more prominent slot in the Autumn. 

‘This gives our viewers a whole calendar of big reality TV formats across the year.’ 

ITV2 whet fans’ appetites’ with a surprise teaser aired after the Love Island 2022 final last summer.

So far the broadcaster has revealed very few details about the return of the show, which previously aired on Channel 5 and Channel 4.

Plenty of names have been thrown in the ring as to who will host, after previous presenters Davina McCall and Emma Willis ruled themselves out.

Rylan Clarke, who presided over the nightly spin off show Bit On The Side during BB’s Channel 5 run is the favourite alongside past contestant Alison Hammond.

Meanwhile, the show’s iconic voiceover looks set to return with Marcus Bentley, who has lent his Geordie tones to all 19 series of the show, is in talks to return. 

The Traitors 

The close of 2022 saw a new contender for the reality TV crown enter the ring. 

With over five million iPlayer streams since it aired its first episode in November, The Traitors has become a TV phenomenon and a huge hit for the BBC, who commissioned a UK series following the success of the original Dutch format.

With Claudia Winkleman swapping her Strictly sparkle for chilling one liners and an incredible winter wardrobe, the show sees a group of contestants holed up in a Scottish castle as they weed out the traitors among them.

Following the huge success of the first series it’s been all but confirmed that a second run will follow.

According to The Daily Star, the BBC has struck a deal with production company Studio Lambert to make a second season, with a source telling the publication: ‘It was a no-brainer.’ 

And, Stephen Lambert, the CEO of Studio Lambert recently told The Media Show that the BBC were ‘making the right noises,’ when asked if they had ordered a second run. 

The first series was filmed in May 2022 at Ardross Castle before its winter air date. To fit in with Claudia’s Strictly commitments, which airs in the autumn, producers will no doubt be hoping to lure her back to Scotland along with a new batch of contestants this spring. 

There have also been rumours about a celebrity edition, but executive producers Sarah Fay and Toni Ireland shut down the speculation in a chat with Metro, pointing out that they ‘want people who are so invested in the game and want to play the game… that’s what brings the drama so well.’

Traitors fans in need of a fix before a second run have been given an extra treat with the arrival of the US edition of the show on iPlayer.

Fans can binge watch the show, which features a mix of US reality show stars and ordinary people, with all episodes available as a box set on the streaming service.