For the 21st series, and after a really successful run last year, ITV has just announced that I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! will once again set up camp at the historic Gwrych Castle in Abergele, North Wales.

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 brand new cast of celebrities adjust to their new surroundings.

Hot on the heels of Giovanna Fletcher being crowned Queen of the Castle in 2020, viewers will once again see the celebrities undertake gruelling trials and action packed challenges to win food and treats, in the lead up to one of them emerging victorious.

The first show of the 2020 series, once again had us all gripped, in fact almost 14 million tuned in making it 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.”

Richard Cowles, Director of Unscripted at Lifted Entertainment said…..

“With the continued uncertainty around covid and international travel we have taken the decision not to return to our home in Australia for the 2021 series.  We’re excited to return to Gwrych Castle.  The last series was a huge success and we were made to feel so welcome by everyone locally and can’t wait to see everyone again.”

Ant & Dec hosted an adapted version of the show, live every night from the castle last year. As with the regular series, we saw the celebrities undertake gruelling trials and fun-filled (for us viewers) challenges to win food and treats in the lead up to Giovanna being crowned Queen of the Castle.

Earlier this year we had a hint that Ant & Dec would welcome a return to Wales. Ant said he would happily stay in the UK, although the weather was an issue.

“We’d happily go back there. We’d miss the sunshine, mind.”

We were welcomed” in Wales. There were cardboard cut-outs of me and Dec in the butcher’s, and the local school did a tribute.”

“If during coronavirus we have to stay put and do it in Wales again, I’d be very happy.”

Dec felt the same, although admitted he’d miss the nice weather.

“The people in Wales were lovely. They made us feel very welcome.

“I had a lovely time. I will miss the sunshine, but I will not miss the jetlag of coming back from Australia.

“I’d love to go back to Oz. But if we had to go back to Wales, I wouldn’t be disappointed.”

With views of the beautiful Welsh countryside, Gwrych Castle is nestled in a tree lined hillside overlooking the Irish Sea. The atmospheric ruined castle with its sprawling design and turrets is spread across 250 acres of gardens and grounds. Actually, when you see the castle from the sky, you can see why the producers have picked the ideal location. It has everything the Australian jungle has to offer, apart from the weather.

Dr Mark Baker, Chair of the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust is thrilled that all eyes will be back on Wales. He said….

“I’m absolutely delighted that I’m A Celebrity has chosen Gwrych Castle to be its UK location for the 2021 series.

Gwrych Castle is a beautiful grade I listed historic house and a must-see destination for tourists visiting Wales. I’m A Celebrity being here will really help support its ongoing restoration as well as giving the region a much-needed economic boost. We are all very excited to be working with the team again.”

The Welsh Government’s Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Dawn Bowden, said…..

“This is excellent news and we look forward to welcoming the I’m a Celebrity team back to Wales this year, and to working with them to make it an even better year! Croeso nol! Welcome back!”

Ant and Dec are no strangers to Wales, having played in the Celebrity Cup (golf) at Celtic Manor. If you fancy a little read about their life, and love of golf too, their book ‘Once Upon A Tyne” is well worth a read. We’ve found a pretty good price for the hardback, just click on the picture below.

book out which is highly entertaining.

We can’t wait for the show to begin, it’s always a highlight of the winter months. When those familiar drums of the show start, we know we’ll be back into another season of ‘must-watch’ TV.

Actually, the team here at SOUTH WALES LIFE are friends with the man who wrote the I’m A Celebrity theme tune, a fact we share every year when the series begins. And now we’ve just done the same with you.

Incidentally, his name is Grant Buckerfield, an Australian who lived and worked, not far from us here in South Wales, for many years. He now resides in Sunny California.

So what of the show and Gwrych Castle?

The South Wales Life

Top Ten I’m A Celebrity – Castle Facts

• The 19th-century country house is located near Abergele in Conwy, North Wales. The castle Gwrych was built between 1810 and 1825 by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh. (We do mean the years not 10 past and 25 past six…….)
• The celebrities might be ravenous if the Bushtucker Trials haven’t been going well, but the same can’t be said for the crew. They can chomp through as much food as they like, pretty much any time of the day.
• The castle played an important role in World War II, it was used to house 200 Jewish refugees.
• On average, there are something like 250,000 cockroaches, 153,000 crickets, 2.5 million mealworms, 400 spiders, 500 rats and 30 snakes bred for each series.
• The castle also served as the training grounds for English World Middleweight boxing champion Randolph Turpin in the early 1950s.
• Celebrities are allowed to make one call home before their mobiles and laptops are taken off them. The wardrobe department also make last-minute adjustments as apparently most celebrities insist they’re a size 10
• Gwrych Castle became known as “The Showpiece of Wales” and over the years has attracted tens of thousands of visitors.
• Ant & Dec and the other presentation team, along with friends and family of the celebrities stay at the super lavish Palazzo Versace Hotel, most of the crew stay in the holiday resort of Coolangatta. We’ve checked out accommodation near the castle and there’s the Bull Hotel on Castle Street, the Beach Caravan Park may be able to squeeze everyone in. There’s also Hapus Luxury Yurts nearby, or of course they could always risk a spooky night in the castle itself.
• The ruins are said to be haunted by the ghost of the previous owner, the Countess of Dundonald.
• The Woman in White, as she is known by locals, is said to be angry that her husband stripped the castle of her valuables and sold them.

This photograph was taken 10 years ago, and while you could easily think it was a set-up, the room the pale young woman is standing in is the Banqueting Hall. The floorboards below that window are completely rotted away, making it impossible for her, or anyone to stand there.

The ghosts of past gamekeepers are also said to stalk the castle’s grounds, which include a creepy pet cemetery.

One of the castle volunteers said…..

“The handrail gave way to nothingness and I felt something propel me up the top three stairs. Seconds later, my colleague told me the butler died right there on that same staircase. I hadn’t told her what just happened!” 

The regular organised ghost hunts at the castle are fantastic events, and always well supported. We have no doubt they’ll be even more popular following the second visit of the show. The producers have hinted that some of the challenges could include a spooky spectre theme.

The Ghost Hunts run throughout the year from 8pm to 1am and involve walking the grounds of the castle, so you need to take appropriate clothing and footwear. The dates are…..

28th August
25th September
23rd & 31st October & 6th November: Halloween Ghost Hunts
27th November
31st December: New Year’s Eve Ghost Hunt

If you’d like more details, go here. SPOOKY

In the meantime, if you’d like to see what the castle is like before the show gets there, take a look at this walk through by ABERGELE TV.

When the show ended last year, and they eventually returned back to business as usual at Gwrych, there was understandably a huge amount of visitor interest. They have plenty on offer too.

Facilities and Access
• Free parking and parking for coaches.
• We are dog friendly but ask for dogs to be kept on leads.
• Toilets on site.

Accessibility
The main building is a ruin so there is currently no public access.
• Please read our accessibility statement below.

Opening times
10:00am – 5:00pm each day with last admission at 4:00pm

Admission Prices
£5 for adults
£2.50 for children
£15 for a family ticket – 2 adults & 3 children

To find out more about this incredible castle, just head here. GWRYCH