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Wales Online
Lifestyle
Chris Harper & Ffion Lewis

I'm a Celeb insiders fear series could be axed after Storm Arwen damage

There are concerns I'm a Celebrity could be cancelled after Storm Arwen reportedly smashed up parts of the set causing celebs to be evacuated.

Sources have said the show could be pushed back or even cancelled indefinitely to try and figure out what was and wasn't damaged.

Producers announced on Saturday night that the contestants have been taken out of the castle due to technical issues which has seen this weekend's live episodes cancelled and replaced by compilation shows from previous series.

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Insiders told The Sun Newspaper that the show could be delayed for a long time as they try and understand "where they go from here" after the damage from the storm during the weekend.

The source allegedly said: “This is a crushing blow. No one anticipated the disaster that this storm would cause and it has completely blindsided us.

“The worst damage is to one of our three production areas — the tent where we keep the scanners, the TV editing suite, the production office and our IT equipment. From the outside, it is wrecked.

A picture reportedly of the I'm a Celebrity base (Twitter/@NoChequesTaken)
Gwrych Castle in Abergele. (Ian Cooper/North Wales Live)

“At the moment, we still don’t know what the damage done to the equipment is, as we can’t go in until it has been declared safe.

“But we need time to get everything fixed and the break buys us some time. We are hoping against hope it will be enough and that we can return on Monday.

“To go ahead then, we also need the green light to bring more staff back on set. But at the moment, nothing is guaranteed.”

Another insider told the Sunday Mirror said: ‘I’m A Celebrity is the jewel in ITV’s crown – one of their top-earning and most popular shows.

“Having it disappear, even for 48 hours, a week into the series is a disaster.”

The celebrity contestants were returned to quarantine as bosses made the decision to remove them from camp.

ITV confirmed in a statement: "Whilst we get the production base back up and running after suffering technical issues due to the storm, we have removed the celebrities from the castle."

The campmates will return to the castle once the show's entire production is safely re-established, with the quarantine conditions for the celebs the same as they were before they joined the show.

If they come into contact with anybody outside of I'm A Celeb's secure Covid bubble, they won't be allowed to return to camp - with Richard Madeley forced out of the show after just four days due to a hospital visit.

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