The jun wate with an ‘OFF ’ switc
. . . not to mention the crocs who can’t snap, hidden rain roof and other secrets of the not-so-wild celeb TV set
FROM keeping a straight face while Stanley Johnson flirts with Made In Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo to surviving those famously meagre rice and beans rations, there will be plenty of challenges for this year’s I’m A Celebrity camp-mates.
But it seems the weather isn’t one of them. For while viewers of last night’s opening episode will have seen the celebrities complaining about the rain, what they won’t have seen is the retractable canvas canopy which protects them from the elements when producers deem the conditions to be bad enough.
Add that to fake logs, a waterfall that can be switched on and off and a fast-food van just metres away, and it seems the jungle may not be quite as much of an isolated wilderness as TV executives would have you believe.
ALISON BOSHOFF reveals the weird, wonderful and not-so-wild secrets of the show . . .
WATERFALL THAT CAN BE TURNED OFF
IT MAKES frequent appearances in the show thanks to bikini-clad lovelies jumping into it — but although it’s made to look like part of the landscape, the famous jungle waterfall is anything but natural. Not only is it man-made, it’s actually switched off between 3pm and 6pm every day to conserve water. And the lagoon below it? Yes, that’s man-made, too.
A show source explains that some features have been created ‘because they don’t naturally occur where one would like them to’.
Meanwhile, a large roll-top bath, which is big enough for two, has been added to the camp this year — not the sort of facility one would usually find in the wilderness.
FIREWOOD THAT’S CHOPPED AND ALL READY TO LIGHT
ON SCREEN, you’re led to believe that keeping the fire going is a chore. In fact, one of the main tasks of the day — which can take campmates most of a morning — is collecting wood for the fire. But while the show’s celebrities might like to see themselves as hunter-gatherers, the wood has been dried and chopped up in advance, then strewn over a wide area by TV crews so the stars can be sent to find it.
Sources close to the show explain that they can’t allow the celebrities to be let loose with an axe, and also need to protect the fauna and forest habitat from ignoramus campers.
Keeping the fire alight is the responsibility of the camp-mates, and the crew are explicitly told not to feed the fire. But, of course, it’s just that little bit easier with wood that’s already been dried and prepared for them.
SECRET SHELTER FROM THE ELEMENTS
THE opening episode showed it had been a rainy weekend in the jungle — and the forecast is for more rain.
But while the contestants grumbled about the damp, they didn’t mention that there’s a retractable canvas canopy covering the fire and an area of the main camp.
It has been decided that it would be unsafe to leave the celebrities in a rainy jungle without any shelter at all, not to mention make for bad TV.
But a source insisted: ‘A lot of the camp i s not under shelter — it’s not like the roof at Wimbledon!’
SOLID AS A (FIBREGLASS) ROCK
THAT jungle landscape may look rugged, but in reality it’s had a bit of help. Some of the rocks are fake and crafted out of fibreglass. And the logs scattered about? Yes, they’re e probably false, too. These e have often been created to o hide some of the 99 cameras s dotted around the campsite.
A DEDICATED BUG FACTORY
BUGS and creepy-crawlies are e used by the bucketload in the e Bushtucker Trials.
Finally, a natural part of the e Australian jungle experience? ?
Think again. They’re actually y bred by an animal specialist in n a bug factory and bought by y the show.
Around 250,000 cockroaches, s 153,000 crickets, 500,000 meal worms, 400 spiders, 500 rats, and 30 snakes are used for each series.
The native animals are kept as far as possible from the stars — the site is swept regularly for dangerous beasties to ensure contestants are never in peril. Creatures found in such searches have included a 16ft boa constrictor.
CROCODILES WITH JAWS TIED SHUT
IN PREVIOUS years, celebrities including models Katie Price and Catalina Guirado have endured the seemingly life-threatening trial of swimming with crocodiles.
But while viewers may have felt their blood pressure rise (not least when Ant and Dec announced a marksman with a tranquilliser gun was on standby), the baby crocs had