Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
They should try to make friends, sing songs and enjoy squirrel steaks
EXCLUSIVE BY VICTORIA DERBYSHIRE
THEY’VE had the medicals and the psych tests, they’ve got their red trousers and now this year’s I’m A Celebrity contestants are heading into Gwrych Castle.
Last night they will likely have done a trial together, which viewers will get to watch on the launch show on Sunday.
This time last year I was apprehensive and excited about meeting my fellow campmates and there’s no doubt this year’s group will be feeling trepidatious too.
Their mobile phones and laptops will have been taken from them and an engineer will have visited where they’re staying to block British television.
That’s so they don’t see any coverage of the other campmates before they meet for the first time.
ITV executives will have spoken to each of them about the rules of the camp – no swearing and no discriminatory language.
Getting to know a group of strangers, learning about their lives, seeing them miss their loved ones... the whole experience is likely to be emotional. There were a few tears in our camp last year.
As soon as they enter the castle they’ll realise how cold it is and they’ll need to light the fire swiftly. Not that it gives off much heat, it’s mainly for cooking.
They’ll have been given thermal leggings and tops to wear under their clothes, and a big warm coat and gloves.
Initially we were aware of the automated cameras high up in the sleeping quarters and bathroom (not the loo), because we could hear them turning to focus on a particular campmate or conversation.
And hidden behind the walls of the living quarters, there are actually cameramen and women, which we only realised when we heard one of them sneeze. But after 24-48 hours you really do forget about them. I felt slightly out of control in the first few days.
Never knowing the time, or what was going on in the world, or what footage from the camp was going out on TV left me feeling unsettled but I soon realised I had to accept that, embrace it and get on with it.
It felt weird not being able to check the BBC news app, Tiktok or Instagram each morning, but after a while I started to love being without my mobile.
It meant we really got to know each other and had to entertain ourselves by having brilliant conversations, singing led by Ruthie Henshall and Russell Watson, or recreating a scene from Eastenders like Shane Richie and Mo Farah did.
If we ever wanted to talk about something privately that we didn’t want to appear on television, Shane told us to sing a famous song in the middle of it because ITV wouldn’t want to pay for the rights to the track, so wouldn’t include it on the show.
I’d never before eaten, let alone prepared, eel, pigeon or squirrel – but that’s what we got and we had to at least try it, otherwise it was rice and beans again or hunger pangs.
Often the men in our camp – Vernon Kay, AJ Pritchard, Mo Farah and Russell Watson – still had cravings after we’d eaten.
We were so lucky that the 12 of us got on brilliantly – we’re on our Whatsapp group most days. Some of them are coming round to watch Sunday night’s show.
Who do I reckon’s going to win? Ex-footballer David Ginola appears to be admired by both women and men (having interviewed him I can confirm he is utterly charming). Richard Madeley will be entertaining because he has a wonderful ability to simply say what he thinks. Arlene Phillips is not be messed with but has a soft side, and Frankie Bridge has over a million followers on Instagram.
If I was asked to give any advice to this year’s campmates? At least try food which you think you’re going to hate.
But mainly, go in there to make friends, test yourself and have fun.