SHOW’S BIG STORM FEAR

Deluge puts broadcast at risk

I’M A Celebrity has been thrown into chaos after a storm hit the camp.

The extreme conditions caused a string of technical difficulties for production staff hours before the series was set to begin.

Last night fears were growing that the first show may not even make it to TV screens tonight.

Filming was interrupted as freak weather hit the show’s base in Murwillumbah, New South Wales, just as the celebrities headed into camp yesterday.

Thunder, lightning and hailstones caused chaos and destruction as authorities warned locals only to go outside if absolutely necessary.

A statement yesterday said: “Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees. Avoid using the telephone during a thunderstorm.” Police said power lines could be brought down, which may cause the broadcast to be interrupted or even stopped. Filming ED GLEAVE has already stalled a number of times and today there will be a race against time to get the first 90-minute show edited.

When lightning hits, producers are sometimes forced to switch off all cameras in camp to ensure everyone is safe.

Hosts Ant and Dec posted a photo on their Twitter page showing the miserable weather.

A show source said: “This is really bad luck. The production is set up to cope with different kinds of weather but this is fairly extreme.

“The sky turned black and torrential rain interrupted filming.”

And the weather is not due to let up, with forecasters predicting more rain today.

The camp is near a creek and can flood in very wet conditions.

Last year, bosses were forced to evacuate the celeb contestants when a storm hit.