ITV has reportedly decided not to return to Australia for this year's edition of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!
The show relocated to a castle in North Wales last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the broadcaster was hopeful of being back in the Aussie jungle this year if circumstances allowed.
The Australian government has been notoriously tough in dealing with the virus - and in recent weeks, much of the country has been placed back in a state of lockdown following an uptick in cases.
According to The Mirror, the uncertain situation has led to producers taking the pre-emptive decision to rule out Australia and return to Wales for the 2021 series.
"The logistics involved in trying to get the entire production team plus celebrities and presenters and all the families to the other side of the world amid the ongoing COVID travel restrictions has just proved too difficult this year," a source told the newspaper.
"The show will be in Wales again and it will be brilliant, just like last year. There is a lot of humour involved in making I'm A Celebrity from a spooky castle at a dark, damp time of year on the Welsh coast. It will be a hoot.
"We took this decision in the last few hours and it is not something we do lightly as there are lots of people involved. But if you look at the situation in Australia at the moment there are States in lockdown or with curfews then it is hard to imagine going out there to make the show.
"The current situation there is not good and it feels like we needed to make a decision and so we are going back to Wales. We were welcomed there with open arms last year and it was a great series.
"The challenge now will be to make it bigger and better than last year. We always try to do that with I'm A Celebrity and last time we only had 10 weeks to transform the castle and we had never been there before.
"This year we have a lot longer, more than three months, and we know the castle and what we are working with so we can really transform it ahead of the arrival of the celebrities."
The new series begins on ITV in mid-November. body check tags ::
Follow us on X/Twitter and like us on Facebook for the latest entertainment news alerts.
Media Mole April Offer: Get Sky Entertainment, Sky Stream & Netflix for just £23 a month + £0 upfront fee for 18 months!
Prices may change during this period. Ends 25th April 2024
