Production team praised for ‘monumental effort’ in getting I’m A Celebrity... back on TV
THE team behind I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! have worked around the clock in a “monumental effort” to get the show back on the screen, presenters Ant and Dec said.
The show returned last night after extreme weather conditions during Storm Arwen caused production difficulties at Gwrych Castle in North Wales.
Appearing on This Morning, I’m A Celebrity hosts Ant Mcpartlin and Declan Donnelly said: “We got a call on Saturday morning to say that, basically, the wind had pretty much destroyed the tech base, the marquees had come down, trees had been felled, boulders had moved so the site was unsafe.
“They could have quite easily said there was too much damage done to the production base and that we won’t be able to get back on air, but they worked round the clock – the team have been magnificent.
“The castle is the one thing that is absolutely fine, the only reason they took the celebrities out of there was because we felt it was just mean keeping them in
there when we can’t film them, we can’t do anything with them, we can’t do trials with them.
“So it was decided to take them out of the castle and put them into single quarantine like we had before they went into the show. They have no phones, no internet, they are completely cut off from
the rest of the world – just how we like it.”
The presenting duo said there was “no choice but to pull the show over the weekend” following Storm Arwen.
They said: “Interestingly, they were all gutted, they have been in there for the best part of a week and they’ve all really bonded, they were gutted to leave and they were like ‘just get us back in there as soon as you can’.
“Arlene [Phillips] took her sleeping bag because she had been sleeping really well in there, Danny [Miller] sleeping on the floor because he is not comfortable in the bed, they are raring to get back in and finish the challenge.
“They have done a week of it and they want the full experience, so they are desperate to get back in – although Frankie [Bridge] did take all of her knickers to wash in the sink.”
A teaser clip released ahead of last night’s return episode showed Paralympian Kadeena Cox and ex-strictly judge Phillips taking part in a trial called the Bed Chamber Of Chills.
They each appeared to be lying in what looked like an enclosed space, with snakes keeping them company as they try to win stars for their campmates.
As the storm hit last week, Friday’s show was switched to all pre-recorded footage, while Saturday, Sunday and Monday’s live episodes were cancelled entirely.