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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Tom Bryant

I'm A Celeb insecticide row as Chris Packham claims whole jungle is sprayed

I'm A Celebrity is in a new row with Chris Packham who claims it doused the jungle with insecticide to stop bugs biting the star contestants.

Autumnwatch host Packham alleges an I'm A Celeb crew member told him: "Every day they would spray the entire jungle in that area with insecticide to kill any biting insects."

The naturalist said: "Imagine what that is doing to the environment?

"So none of them were getting pestered by insects, they had to constantly spray the camp.

"It just gets worse and worse the more I learn about it. Someone that worked on it told me that."

Chris Packham said he has spoken to someone who had worked on I'm a Celebrity (Getty Images)

He said: "When they were in the jungle none of them were scratching and itching or complaining about the insects." He added: "It's really upsetting. It's like a circus."

But ITV has hit back saying: "This is categorically not true, as a production we do not spray the jungle or castle area with insecticide, we have a strict environmental plan in place."

The ITV show is returning to the jungle later this year (James Gourley/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

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Shane Richie, a 2020 contestant when I'm a Celeb was in a Welsh castle, has claimed on TV he was stopped making nettle tea there because they were drenched in insecticide.

He said he had an armful of nettles and was about to go the castle when he got called to the show's telegraph room.

Shane Richie appeared on the castle version in 2020 (ITV)

Shane was asked what was he doing. He said: "I said, 'I'm hoping to make a cup of tea.' They said, 'Put them back, they've been sprayed with insecticide'."

Packham, who is back on BBC 's Autumnwatch next week, has previously hit out at TV chiefs for the use of live animals such as snakes and cockroaches on the show.

Autumnwatch begins next Tuesday at 8pm on BBC2 and on iPlayer

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