DOWN TO EARTH WITH A BUMP FOR CELEB CAMPERS
HOLLIE ARNOLD got a comforting kiss from Shane Richie as stars of this year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here went over the edge to enter this year’s show last night.
The 26-year-old Paralympian and the former EastEnder were among ten celebs given a daunting abseiling task on arrival at their new home, Gwrych Castle in north Wales. Former Strictly Come Dancing pro AJ Pritchard took his place in the VIP troupe after a spell in isolation following a positive Covid test. And he was the first to brave the rusty bath – taking a shower with the help of Richie using a watering can. After arriving by helicopter and Jeep to a cliff edge, the stars had to work together to retrieve their rucksacks, which were hanging off the rock face.
Radio presenter Jordan North, 30, freaked out. ‘I can’t believe I was sick, I’ve only been here five minutes and I’m puking up already,’ he said.
The warm welcome also included a Gates of Hell trial that saw the celebs locked in cages and doused in maggots, mealworms, cockroaches and crickets. As Corrie star Beverley Callard tried to shake the bugs out her top, Victoria Derbyshire told her she had ‘magnificent breasts’ and said ‘what a cleavage’.
Callard, 63, admitted she was ‘absolutely terrified’ about the start of the new series. She added: ‘This year has been awful for everybody and I should have been on stage now and then going into panto, so I just thought, “What the hell, why not”.’