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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Louise Randell

I'm A Celebrity castle bosses confirm no exotic bugs escaped during trials

Bosses of the castle where I'm A Celebrity was filmed have confirmed no exotic bugs escaped during the trials.

The gruesome Bushtucker Trials often involve insects like crickets and cockroaches, and there were concerns non-native creepy crawlies could have escaped into the Welsh countryside.

Police even launched an investigation after Springwatch presenter Iolo Williams flagged fears over the cockroaches being featured in the challenges.

The show has now finished and bosses at Gwrych Castle, where the show was filmed, have confirmed there were no insect escapees.

During a question and answer session on Instagram, castle bosses were asked: "Do you still see any bugs around the castle now from the trials?"

They responded: "No - they were all within self-contained areas and units. No escapees!"

The stars of I'm A Celebrity were covered in bugs during the trials (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

ITV bosses previously insisted there were safeguards in place to make sure none of the critters got lost.

They also confirmed the insects would all be re-homed after filmed ended.

In a statement, they explained: "Insects like crickets, cockroaches and morio worms are purposely bred in the UK, in normal circumstances for animal feed.

"After filming, these are donated to local wildlife centres and sanctuaries after filming.

There were fears insects could escape into the countryside around Gwyrch Castle in North Wales (Getty Images)

"We have also put measures in place to look after our invertebrates which includes the installation of grates to allow easy collection."

Williams previously told the Guardian, he was worried about non-native bugs escaping and causing havoc in the UK ecosystem.

He said: "I'm not sure which species they’re releasing, but I can tell you they’re not native.

Vernon Kay covered in creepy crawlies during a Bushtucker Trial (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Precautions were put in place to stop the creatures getting loose (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

"We don’t have those cockroaches here in the UK and we certainly don’t have them in north Wales...

"Cockroaches are the ultimate survivors, and if they survive in north Wales and escape into the wild there, what effect are they going to have? I don’t know, nobody knows."

ITV insisted all of the insects used on the show were non-invasive species.

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