I’m A Celeb bosses nearly missed out on their Welsh castle location – because its owner thought their inquiry was a wind-up.
The series has swapped the Australian jungle for spectacular Gwrych Castle in Abergele.
But Mark Baker, boss of the trust which owns the site, initially dismissed an ITV email as junk mail.
Mark, who confessed he has never seen the show, said: “I had an email come through... but I ignored it at first. I thought it was spam.
“After double-checking, I got in touch with the location guy at ITV and he said it was a reality TV show they wanted to make in the UK, but he couldn’t reveal what it was.”
It wasn’t until weeks later that Mark, 35, was finally told what the programme was.
He said: “When I found out what the show was, I thought, ‘That’s pretty immense’. We hope it will open up North Wales to the whole of Britain and further afield.”
Mark founded the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust when he was just 12 and saved the historic building from demolition.
I’m A Celeb returns in November. Rumoured stars include Vernon Kay, 46, AJ Pritchard, 25, and Tamzin Outhwaite, 49.
