Camping out in the Australian jungle certainly isn't for the fainthearted, particularly if you're not too keen on sharing your camp bed with snakes and spiders. Some I'm a Celebrity contestants, however, will no doubt be breathing a sigh of relief that they're not staying at Gwrych Castle in North Wales, where the show was filmed for two years running amid coronavirus restrictions.
The chilly 19th-century country home made for a much different setting than seasons past, and the much closer proximity to UK viewers naturally meant changes to the filming schedule. The most striking difference meant that, unlike those who came before them, celebs had to stay up until 4am, no matter how tired they might have been.
When the show is filmed down under, the huge time difference means viewers watching back home in the UK will be settling in for the evening while the campmates are still getting themselves ready for the day ahead. This, of course, wasn't the case when filming took place in Wales, with trials taking place in the exact same time zone.
With the show kicking off at 9pm, those sent out to win stars for food most likely wouldn't have returned to camp before gone midnight, with cooking time taking them into the early hours of the morning. Factor in washing up time, and it would often be 4am before the exhausted celebs could finally hit the hay.
Writing for the Mirror last year, broadcaster and former campmate Victoria Derbyshire recalled: "Because it’s filmed in the UK again this year, unlike in Australia, every night is a very, very late night – we didn’t get to bed until three sometimes four in the morning (obviously we didn’t have watches or ‘phones so those times are estimates)."
She continued: "This is because the trial takes place after Ant and Dec have come into the castle, live, to announce who the public has voted for. That individual then goes off to do the challenge and often doesn’t arrive back until midnight - 1 o'clock in the morning.
"The food gets delivered sometime after that – which we then had to chop/wash/work out how to cook, before eating at 2.30 am to 3 am."
According to Victoria, their late-night meals meant they regularly found themselves eating their breakfast at lunchtime, and she found there was 'never enough' food, putting enormous pressure on campmates.
What do you think about this year's season of I'm A Celebrity? Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com
