First look at I’m A Celebrity camp being built in Australia as show finally returns Down Under after 3 years-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro

We can hardly contain our excitement (Picture: Backgrid/REX)

Try your best to stay calm – we have a first look at the new I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! camp which is finally back where it belongs.

Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly will return to Australia this year with a new cast of celebs, all ready to be put through their paces in some grim trials.

This will be the show’s first series Down Under since the pandemic hit after the crew bid farewell to the beloved Gwrych Castle in North Wales, where the previous two series have taken place.

After much speculation that I’m A Celebrity would be back in Oz for 2022, ITV’s Director of Content, Rosemary Newell, first hinted in March that show would be returning to its birthplace, saying at the time: ‘We expect I’m A Celebrity to return in Australia in November, when it will generate audience over 11 million’.

Thanks to travel restrictions no longer being in place, the much-loved Geordie duo and the new campmates – who are yet to be announced – can make the lengthy trip for a proper I’m A Celeb experience – the one we all know and love to watch.

First look images are very exciting indeed, as the camp is under construction near Murwillumbah in Australia.

Recognise that iconic treehouse? (Picture: Backgrid)

Ant and Dec will be on that bridge, screaming their famous intro, before we know it (Picture: Backgrid)

Debris litters the site currently, but some sets are still in place, including a fake Wild West-style main street.

The treehouse where Ant and Dec present most of the show and where they greet evictees from the camp is also covered in debris following the three-year hiatus, but it appears to have a new red roof.

Meanwhile, pools where contestants undergo water challenges appear to currently be filled with green algae.

The crew’s production site is also bustling with cars as workers get busy making the huge site ready for the new series, which is expected to begin in early to mid-November.

Workers are grafting hard to get the camp in shape for the new cast of celebs (Picture: Backgrid)

The site is covered in debris currently (Picture: Backgrid)

The celebrities are sure to be taking on some unforgettable trials here (Picture: Backgrid)

Award-winning presenters Ant and Dec will surely be delighted that the show is making a triumphant return to home soil.

During an appearance on The One Show in Februrary, Ant began: ‘Well, the plan is the jungle, so if all things…,’ to which Dec chimed in: ‘Nothing against Wales!’

Ant then added: ‘We love Wales but you know, Australia is its home and we’d like to get back there if we can.’

His co-host Dec said: ‘That’s what we’re hoping, touch wood.’

It’s all coming together ahead of the launch in November (Picture: Backgrid)

This will be the show’s first time in Australia in three years (Picture: Backgrid)

It’s been a long wait, as the last series of I’m A Celeb in Australia was in 2019, when former EastEnders actress Jacqueline Jossa was crowned queen of the jungle, with Coronation Street’s Andy Whyment coming second and DJ Roman Kemp finishing third.

Then, in 2020, the show headed to Wales for the first time, celebrating its 20th series.

Ant and Dec will surely be thrilled to have I’m A Celeb back in its birthplace (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)

Giovanna Fletcher came out on top, while presenter Jordan North finished as the runner-up – the vote was actually the closest ever voting percentage between the final two campmates.

Then, last year, I’m A Celeb had a second run in the castle, but not without drama, as storms forced the show off air for a few days while celebs were taken to safer accommodation.

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But, it all worked out in the end, and Emmerdale’s Danny Miller was crowned King of the Castle.

While we loved watching the celebs take on the trials and tribulations the Welsh castle had to offer, we are buzzing for the show to head back to its roots – bring on the witchetty grubs!

I’m A Celebrity returns to ITV later this year.

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