If you thought that this year’s I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! contestants had it easy when they were evacuated from Gwrych Castle last week because of Storm Arwen, it sounds far from it.
The extreme weather conditions caused production difficulties at the set in North Wales, with three live shows cancelled and the stars were removed from the camp as a precaution.
Arlene Phillips, who was the first celeb to be voted off this year’s series, has spilled the beans about the campmate’s brief time away from the castle, and whilst it was a smidge more luxurious than basecamp, they certainly didn’t get the VIP treatment.
The former Strictly Come Dancing judge, who at 78 was the oldest contestant to take part in the ITV series, has revealed none of the contestants were allowed access to their phones, read the news or contact their families.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Dame Arlene said they had been kept in isolation during their time outside of the castle.
She said: “We definitely didn’t get our phones back. I wish. The only thing we had to watch was Netflix. No news, no family contact, nothing.
“We spent a day in the castle. We didn’t know where we were going to go, what was going to happen. And then we were taken into isolation.
“We all had separate houses and there was some food waiting for us. We were totally isolated.”
She added: “It was very strange because you are out of the castle but you are still in isolation.”
However, there was one perk to being in isolation: it meant Dame Arlene could get her roots done.
“For me it was great because I managed to get delivered my Josh Wood (hair dye) and I could do my roots. That was the biggest thrill of a lifetime, to go back without my roots showing. It was a good thing for me.
“And then we went back into the castle we just immediately got on with the job in hand, getting everything prepared. It was cold, we had to make the fire, get on with it.”
Dame Arlene described her time on the show as “an adventure of a lifetime” but admitted it had been more challenging than she had expected
The ITV show has had an eventful series so far, with intruders removed on two separate occasions, whilst Richard Madeley had to exit the show early after he was taken to hospital when he fell ill – and having broken the Covid bubble, was not able to return.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! continues at 9pm on ITV.