I’m A Celebrity contestants removed from castle after Storm Arwen causes ‘significant damage’

The contestants on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! have been removed from Gwrych Castle in the aftermath of Storm Arwen.

ITV said the storm caused “significant damage” to the show’s production base in Wales – meaning there will be no new episodes this weekend.

Strict COVID rules mean the contestants – including Louise Minchin, Naughty Boy and Arlene Phillips – will remain in quarantine until filming can resume.

It comes after the shows on Saturday and Sunday were cancelled because the production base at Gwrych Castle in North Wales suffered significant damage during Storm Arwen on Friday night.

A statement from I’m A Celebrity said: “Whilst we get the production base back up and running after suffering technical issues due to the storm, we have removed the celebrities from the castle.”

The quarantine conditions for the celebrities will be the same as they had before entering the castle.

Earlier on Saturday, ITV announced the technical difficulties caused by the weather conditions meant there would be no new episodes this weekend.

The episodes were being replaced by compilation shows voiced by hosts Ant and Dec, featuring the best moments from previous series.

Friday’s episode of the ITV series was the first to be pre-recorded due to the weather conditions.

Hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly recorded their links early in the evening as part of “precautionary measures” put in place by ITV following severe storm warnings.

The duo posted a video from outside the castle ahead of the show, with the wind whipping and roaring in the background.

“You’ve probably heard we’ve had to record the show a bit earlier tonight because of the winds here at Storm Arwen,” said Donnelly.

“It’s bad, isn’t it, it’s really windy,” said McPartlin. “You can hear it, it’s rattling the tent, it might blow this away, so we’ve got to get it done and get out of here.”

Donnelly added: “It’s due to get worse later so everyone is afraid that the satellite is going to go down and all of that, so it’s a bit risky to do a live show, so we’re going to have to do it recorded tonight, which is the first time we’ve ever done that.”

It has been an eventful first week at Gwrych Castle, where the programme is being filmed for a second year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

On Thursday, Richard Madeley announced he was leaving the show after he was taken to hospital as a precaution when he fell ill in the early hours of the morning.

The TV star later said he felt “fit as a fiddle” and was “gutted” that COVID restrictions meant he was not able to return.

ITV also confirmed that an intruder was removed from the set after a security breach at the castle earlier in the week.