I'm A Celebrity 2021: Gwrych Castle begins preparations

Preparations have begun in for the 2021 series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.

The ITV show will be filmed at Abergele's Gwrych Castle for a second year, with Covid preventing a return to the Australian jungle.

The Conwy county castle has now closed to the public to allow TV producers to begin preparing for the series.

A new book gives an idea of the work involved in converting the derelict Grade I listed castle for the show.

It reveals the show's production team is made up of 500 people, many of whom worked in a huge tent erected in the castle grounds.

On one windy day, the crew had to briefly abandon their offices when some guy ropes came loose.

It also reports the celebrities' sleeping and living area had to be roofed over because of the Welsh weather, but this meant building a special chimney and extractor to remove fumes from the camp fire.

The filming schedule meant the celebrities' trials, in which they complete tasks involving insects or unpleasant foods, were actually filmed well after midnight.

A special kitchen was set up to prepare dishes like fermented duck eggs and blended vomit fruit - well away from the main staff canteen.

The souvenir guidebook was co-written by Mark Baker, chairman of the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust, which owns the castle.

"It was an enormous task to turn a derelict and sometimes dangerous ruin into a TV set," he said.

"It was just extraordinary how they repurposed lots of the interior spaces in the historic building - it wasn't just all fake sets, they used the actual castle, and it's quite exciting to show people how that happened."

He said ITV had been "incredibly sensitive to the history and fabric of the place" and to Welsh culture.

"Where the celebrities' bathroom was, was also a place where staff would have washed back in history.

"It was lovely to work with them, and exciting to work with them again this autumn."

The sight of a crane over the top of the castle in the past few weeks has led to speculation that new areas of the castle may feature in the 2021 series.

Sources close to the programme said the most prominent Welsh character - Kiosk Cledwyn - would be making a return to the screen to give the celebrities luxury rewards if they succeed in challenges.

Preparations have also begun in the town of Abergele itself, where the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust has opened a souvenir shop to sell merchandise while the castle is closed to visitors for the filming.

The throne on which Giovanna Fletcher was crowned queen of the castle at the end of the 2020 series is also in display in the shop.

Businesses in Abergele were hoping that the programme would help boost trade and create a buzz in the area.

Tracey Brennan, who owns The Veg Shop in the town centre, said she could not wait.

"It's been such a terrible trading year, and when last year's show went out, we were all in lockdown," she said.

"From a business point of view, after being locked down for lots of last winter, we can now look forward to a period with more visitors and more footfall, and try to recoup losses from earlier in the year.

"We've already seen lots of tourists who have been talking about coming back in winter and asking us where is the best place to view the castle.

"It will be something between autumn and Christmas to lift people's spirits.

"We can't wait to see the celebs, and are even hoping we'll get to see a bit more of them in the town this year."

Conwy council has put plans in place to improve safety on the roads in the area, where a woman was killed during last year's show after being hit by a car while trying to take a photo of the castle.

It also hopes the show's producers will look at featuring other locations around north Wales.

Louise Emery, cabinet member for the economy, said: "We're delighted the show is being filmed in Abergele again, and we're looking forward to seeing some familiar locations on national TV.

"Covid restrictions will be less this year, so we're quietly hoping that the production team will be able to do more filming in the surrounding area.

"The mountains, coast and landscapes of Conwy county lend themselves to all sorts of creative challenges for the celebrities - who knows what we'll see.

"This year's show has already brought economic benefits to the area. It's been really good to see local businesses supplying catering and other services to the production crew as they start to get the castle ready.

"We're hoping those economic benefits can continue long after the show comes off air and the celebrities have headed home."