The next series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! is to be filmed in Wales for the second year, it has been reported.
The ITV show, which is set to air in November, will return to Gwrych Castle after ITV bosses decided that returning to Australia was “too tricky”.
One source told The Mirror : “The logistics involved in trying to get the entire production team plus celebrities and presenters and all the families to the other side of the world amid the ongoing Covid travel restrictions has just proved too difficult this year.
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“The show will be in Wales again and it will be brilliant, just like last year. There is a lot of humour involved in making I'm a Celebrity from a spooky castle at a dark, damp time of year on the Welsh coast. It will be a hoot.”
Earlier this summer Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that he intended to keep the country’s borders closed indefinitely, stating that the completion of the vaccine rollout did not guarantee a reopening.
In June it was reported I’m a Celebrity bosses were taking no chances when it comes to this year’s show – by keeping back up plans to accommodate the crew near Gwrych Castle.
The five-star Golden Sands Holiday Park in Rhyl, north Wales, had been held for the production team to use again if needed.
In May ITV's hopes were dealt a blow after the Australian government said they don't expect their borders to reopen until 2022.
In the country's budget plan it confirmed in documents that "inbound and outbound international travel is expected to remain low through to mid-2022, after which a gradual recovery in international tourism is assumed to occur".
At the time Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he did not believe Australians had an "appetite" for opening borders if it meant having to deal with more coronavirus outbreaks, lockdowns and social restrictions.
"We have to be careful not to exchange that way of life for what everyone else has," he said.
In a later post on Facebook, he warned borders would only be opened "when it is safe to do so".
This meant for ITV to be able to go to Australia to film the show, every member of cast and crew as well as celebrity contestants coming from the UK would need to apply for individual exemptions to travel.
Also in May, hosts Ant and Dec said plans were “up in the air” for the series this year but insisted it would not be an issue if they did return to Wales.
Dec said they were “made to feel very welcome” and Ant added: “Having the castle as a backdrop really helped with the challenges and the reference points, and I think all the celebs who were in there absolutely loved it. So we would happily go back to Wales if we had to.”
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