ITV chiefs are working on a “reserve” plan to relocate the whole production of this year’s I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here to the UK if Australia’s Covid-19 flare-ups continue.
Channel bosses are so determined to ensure the 20th series goes ahead later this year they are scoping out alternative venues in the UK as a plan B.
They are desperate for the ratings-juggernaut, fronted by Ant and Dec, to go ahead as usual, having already seen advertising halve and revenues nosedive during the pandemic.
With many dramas postponed and all major sports tournaments cancelled, schedulers are having to fill airtime with endless repeats.
One source revealed: “Having I’m a Celebrity for three weeks in November is seen as a huge priority.
"Everyone hopes to get back to Australia but over there they are struggling massively with flare-ups resulting in second lock-downs. It simply may not be possible because of safety."
The source added: “A decision needs to be made next month – in the meantime, the team is looking at stately homes, castles, mansions in remote areas of Scotland and England to see if we could stage it here.
"A dark, cold and spooky version of the show would be good fun – it would certainly be different.”
Bosses believe if the long-running show does have to be filmed in the UK it will at least make it memorable – in the same way that it got bumper ratings when Holly Willoughby stood in for Ant McPartlin for one year in 2018.
The series, which launched in 2002, is one of ITV’s biggest hits, pulling in audiences of up to 10million last year.
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