Over the years, massively popular Chinese variety show Happy Camp, which premiered on Hunan TV in 1997, has changed its line-up of hosts several times. But He Jiong, who has hosted the show for over 20 years, has been it's most constant presence over the decades.

However, there are now rumours that he has quit the show, which given the recent upheaval in Chinese showbiz, isn't news that anyone would take lightly.

The speculation started on Tuesday (Sep 28) after netizens noticed that Happy Camp did not release any trailers for its upcoming episode, which has never happened before.

Soon, rumours that the show has been suspended indefinitely — hence the lack of trailers — went viral.

There was also talk that He Jiong’s alleged resignation could be due to a complaint by a “famous” director.

Last month, Chinese director and writer Liu Xinda shared on Weibo that he would lodge a complaint against He Jiong and also called on the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television to sack the host, though he did not say why.

Hunan TV quickly took to Weibo to refute the rumours, saying news of He Jiong’s departure are untrue.

It added that not only did He Jiong not resign, he is hosting a special National Day show with Wang Han.

He Jiong also shared Hunan TV’s post and told fans to stay tuned to the show.

Happy Camp has been embroiled in a number of scandals of late.

In 2020, five Happy Camp hosts were revealed to have to resold high value gifts that were gifted to them on second-hand stores online.

Just last month, Weijia (pictured in blue top) came under fire after a tea brand he endorsed allegedly defrauding its franchisees.

Photos: He Jiong/Weibo