Yahoo News 28 things you didn't know about I'm a Celebrity
I'm A Celebrity comes at just the right time of year – the time it's so cold you don't want to go outside anyway, so you're happy to give up every evening for three weeks, glued to the events of the camp.
So here are some very important and useful facts about the television show that you might have missed.
1. The camp is based in Springbrook National Park in a town called Murwillumbah in Queensland, roughly an hour from the hotel the celebrities are based in.
2. Contestants are sent to the five star Palazzo Versace hotel on the Gold Coast near Surfer's Paradise following their stint in the jungle, where their friends and family are also staying, ready to greet them.
A post shared by Palazzo Versace Gold Coast (@palazzoversace) on Nov 30, 2016 at 3:31pm PST
3. The crew, however, aren't indulged in quite so much luxury. They're put up in the nearby holiday resort of Coolangata instead.
4. All celebrities face a psychological evaluation before any contracts are signed and they head into the jungle. This includes questions about "your past, your anxieties, [and] your likes and dislikes" according to former contestant Katie Price.
5. It was also revealed in the book I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! The Inside Story that "every celebrity who is considering taking part is sent a pack including a DVD so they know precisely what they're letting themselves in for".
6. As well as that, potential celebrities are invited to a series of meetings with show producers known as 'The Talk Of Doom' – where they're told exactly how hard doing the experience would be.
7. Carol Vorderman was the highest paid contestant in last year's series, thought to have earned £200,000 for starring in the show.
8. But Spencer Matthews was rumoured to have been one of the highest paid contestants ever, having been offered between £300,000 and £500,000 for his appearance on 2015's series (before he was forced to quit – so who knows if he actually got the money?)
9. On the other end of the scale, it seems like £25,000 is the minimum lesser-known celebrities rake in for signing up. Model and beauty pageant winner Amy Willerton from 2014's series was rumoured to have earned £25k, with last year's contestants Jordan Banjo and Joel Dommett also having apparently received that figure.
10. Contestants have to stay in the jungle for at least 72 hours to receive their full pay according to contract rules, meaning Gemma Collins was pretty damn savvy in 2014, when she famously quit after three days – just the right amount of time to be eligible for her pay check.
11. The famous waterfall shower is fake, believe it or not. Former contestant, broadcaster Lauren Booth, who appeared in the 2006 series of the show, revealed that it's manmade and is frequently turned off during the day.
12. Lauren Booth also exposed some other areas of the camp to be fake – like the rocks around the edge of the jungle base. She claimed these were "hollow and made of papier mache". The cheeky swines.
13. Although some of the camp props are fake, the wildlife isn't. In fact, last year, eight deadly funnel web spiders – some of the most poisonous in the world – were found just metres from where the celebrities sleep.
14. It's for this reason the area is fully scouted, with dangerous animals and insects being removed before the contestants enter the camp. They can't guarantee the creatures will stay away, though.
15. The series might not start until November, but work on the jungle camp begins long before that. In August, the art department and trials team are tasked with preparing for the set and all the plots ready for the upcoming show.
16. The entire set is made up of half a mile of suspension bridges, using four miles of rope, five miles of steel cabling and 60 tonnes of scaffolding to put it all together. No small project, then.
17. Bob the medic revealed the cast are given red socks to wear so that blood from insect bites doesn't show up on camera. Reassuring.
18. Presenters Ant and Dec don't have to worry about adjusting to the Australian time-zone – they become nocturnal during the series anyway. The duo have a 1am wake-up call meaning they arrive on set at 2.30am, where they proceed to watch clips, prepare voiceovers, talk through the script and rehearse before the show goes live at around 7am.
19. Packing rules are strict: contestants are only allowed to bring in three sets of underwear and three sets of swimwear for the show's duration. They're given a uniform to wear for their time in their jungle.
20. Each celebrity is allowed one luxury item as well as their underwear, although as we saw last year, often they're not even allowed to take that in to begin with, and have to win it in a challenge instead.
21. Celebs who smoke aren't expected to go cold turkey: they have access to "some" cigarettes according to show insiders.
22. After the first series back in 2003, celebrities complained about the lack of anywhere to change privately. So producers instructed the art department to create a 'modesty smock' – essentially a massive sheet with a hole for your head, and they've been being used by contestants ever since.
23. As soon as they're voted out the jungle, celebrities are given a medical check over by Bob, a psychological analysis, and are given a phone to call their agent.
24. The Bushtucker Trials require so many bugs, they've created their own bug-breeding factory. Last year they used the most bugs in show's history, but to put that in context, in 2013 they bred 250,000 cockroaches, 153,000 crickets, 2.5 million mealworms, 400 spiders, 500 rats, 30 snakes, six 1-metre-long crocodiles, and 20 small crocodiles. All in a year's work.
25. Celebrities have to sign contracts waiving ITV of any responsibility should they come to any physical harm during the making of the show. Because it could get seriously pricy if not.
26. Talking of pricy, Ant and Dec earn approximately £13,700 a day each for presenting the show. That's based on the presenting duo having last year signed a new three-year contract with ITV for £30 million.
27. Staff test out the Bushtucker Trials before the celebrities are subjected to them, making sure they're safe. Not going to lie, we wouldn't be volunteering for that job in a hurry.
28. While they ate like kings and queens in last year's series, the hunger is real in the show. There are electrolyte drinks and glucose on hand to give contestants an energy-boost if levels are low, however, because who wants to watch a bunch of snoozing celebrities? NOT US.
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