After weeks of builders working round-the-clock to restore crumbling Welsh landmark Gwrych Castle, I’m A Celebrity have revealed the first look at the camp.
This year’s stars will experience the most brutal living conditions in the show’s 20-year history, after relocation from Australia to Wales due to the coronavirus pandemic.
MailOnline has been given special access to the show’s brand new set located inside the eerie Gwrych Castle, North Wales, where celebrities including TV presenter Vernon Kay, 48, Corrie legend Beverley Callard, 63, and Team GB star Mo Farah, 37, will compete for food and hot water in freezing temperatures.
Get Me Out Of Here! After weeks of builders working round-the-clock to restore crumbling Welsh landmark Gwrych Castle, I’m A Celebrity have revealed the first look at the celebrities camp
The ten contestants will sleep on rusty old beds, covered by a newly installed plastic roof, with only the campfire located inside the adjoining living quarters providing any heat.
If the campmates need the toilet at night, they have to wander outside in the Baltic conditions to visit the Privy, a battered old shed, which has replaced the traditional dunny.
And the usually pampered celebrities will bathe in a tiny tin bath and wash their hair using water from an old watering can hanging above – their modesty covered by a mouldy shower curtain.
Long lost Welsh cousin: Kiosk Kev has been replaced with Kiosk Cledwyn, named after the late politician Cledwyn Hughes
Spooky: MailOnline has been given special access to the show’s brand new set located inside the eerie Gwrych Castle, North Wales
And the usually pampered celebrities will bathe in a tiny tin bath and wash their hair using water from an old watering can hanging above – their modesty covered by a mouldy shower curtain
And bath time is a two-man job, as a fellow campmate has to generate water from a nearby pump
Tasks: In order to keep the castle in check, the stars will have to undertake gruelling daily chores inside the Boiler Room, located in the Courtyard
Long walk: These include fetching logs from the surrounding forest and feeding them through a wood splitter ready to be lit in the boiler
And bath time is a two-man job, as a fellow campmate has to generate water from a nearby pump.
In order to keep the castle in check, the stars will have to undertake gruelling daily chores inside the Boiler Room, located in the Courtyard.
These include fetching logs from the surrounding forest and feeding them through a wood splitter ready to be lit in the boiler.
Run down: If the campmates need the toilet at night, they have to wander outside in the Baltic conditions to visit the Privy, a battered old shed, which has replaced the traditional dunny
Countdown is on: The entrance to the castle has been revamped for the show
Bring it on! The 2020 series, which starts on Sunday, is expected to last 20 days – two shorter than normal
Tough conditions: The camp comes complete with stone boulders to sit on, a treasure chest and log fire
Ring ring: ITV still kept some of the viewers’ favourites including the telephone box which is covered in ivy
Daily Chores: There is a courtyard area where celebrities can collect barrels of water
Uncomfortable: Stars can sit on a mouldy sofa or wooden logs and stone boulders
Two campmates use a pump to prime the system and provide lukewarm water. This has to be done twice a day, 30 minutes each time.
The Boiler Room is situated opposite the castle version of the Bushtucker Telegraph, simply named Telegraph, where celebrities will no doubt vent their frustrations at feeling constantly damp.
Nearby is the Ye Oldee Shoppe, replacing the Outback Shack, which is manned by Kiosk Cledwyn the long lost Welsh cousin of Kiosk Kev who is ‘equally as grumpy’.
Nearby is the Ye Oldee Shoppe, replacing the Outback Shack, which is manned by Kiosk Cledwyn the long lost Welsh cousin of Kiosk Kev who is ‘equally as grumpy’
Challenge: This is where the celebrities will exchange their Castle Coins won on challenges for much needed treats
That’s where the celebrities will exchange their Castle Coins won on challenges for much needed treats.
As per the Aussie version, campmates will have to compete in trials to win meals.
If unsuccessful, they will only be allowed basic rations – rice and beans.
The stars will be led to their challenges via the Trial Steps, which have replaced their wooden rope bridges used in the jungle.
Ye Hen Shop: There is even a Ye Olde Shoppe at Kiosk Cledwyn’s kiosk
Trial steps: The stars will be led to their challenges via the Trial Steps, which have replaced their wooden rope bridges used in the jungle
Hosts Ant and Dec, who will be presenting from their new studio next door, will enter the castle’s living quarters at the end of each episode to reveal which celebrity has been voted by the public to do the trials – which, like always, will feature critters.
ITV hired the 19th century castle for six weeks costing £1million after Covid-19 ruled out the usual setting in Australia.
The 2020 series, which starts on Sunday, is expected to last 20 days – two shorter than normal.
Other celebrities competing are Strictly star AJ Pritchard, 26, vlogger Giovanna Fletcher, 35, paralympian Hollie Arnold, 26, EastEnders actress Jessica Plummer, 28, Radio 1 DJ Jordan North, 30, funnyman Shane Richie, 56, TV presenter Vernon Kay, 46, and radio host Victoria Derbyshire, 52.
Exciting: Hosts Ant and Dec, who will be presenting from their new studio next door, will enter the castle’s living quarters at the end of each episode to reveal which celebrity has been voted by the public to do the trials
In the country: ITV hired the 19th century castle for six weeks costing £1million after Covid-19 ruled out the usual setting in Australia