The upcoming 21st series of “I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!” will return to the Gwrych Castle, Abergele, in North Wales, for the second year in a row, ITV has revealed.
The show used to be filmed in Australia until the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world. Australia has some of the toughest COVID-19 rules for people entering the country and part of the nation is under strict lockdown.
The show, produced by Lifted Entertainment, part of ITV Studios, will be hosted by Ant & Dec and broadcast live every night from the ruined castle, as a fresh cast of celebrities adjust to their new surroundings. They will undertake gruelling trials and action packed challenges to win food and treats, before one of them emerges victorious.
Giovanna Fletcher was crowned Queen of the Castle in the 2020 edition, the first time the show relocated to Wales. Despite the location change, it was a ratings success for ITV. The first show of the 2020 series consolidated to an audience of 13.8 million TV viewers — a 52% audience share — over the first seven days of its availability. It was also the most popular show of 2020 for young viewers with an average of 2.8 million and 66% of 16-34s watching across the series.
Overall it became the second most watched series of “I’m A Celebrity,” which has been on air since 2002.
Katie Rawcliffe, ITV head of entertainment commissioning, said: “We can confirm today that we’ll be returning to Wales for the 2021 series of ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ We’ve always said we have contingencies in place for the series if the COVID situation continued to bring uncertainty, and after a highly successful run at the castle last year we’re pleased that we can return there. I have no doubt the production team will produce another hugely entertaining series.”