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I’m A Celeb’s new camp is spooky castle in Wales haunted by floating woman in white
I’M A CELEB stars may be extra keen to Get Out of Here this year — as their camp is a haunted castle.
Show chiefs have paid a king’s ransom to secure the sprawling and spooky-looking 200-year-old Gwrych Castle folly in North Wales.
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The eerie ruins are said to be prowled by the spectre of previous owner, the Countess of Dundonald.
The floating woman in white is said to be angry that her husband stripped the castle of valuables.
A chilling photo taken there ten years ago shows a pale, shadowy young woman on the first floor — in what used to be a magnificent banquet hall.
However, the floorboards beneath the window had rotted away, making it impossible to stand there.
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Producers plan to get in the spirit of things by incorporating the theme in trials — and are even hoping to capture strange happenings on night-vision cameras.
The November move to the chilly wilds of Wales, revealed by The Sun yesterday, is due to Covid restrictions in Australia making it impossible to film at the usual jungle camp.
A source on the ITV show said: “Producers are chuffed with the new location — they’re excited for a change in scenery this year.
“Obviously upping sticks and moving to a completely new location was a tough decision, but they feel confident it’s the right one.
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“The Bushtucker trial crew, who work tirelessly all year round, have been working overtime to come up with some terrifying new trials and challenges.
“It’s a brilliant move for viewers as celebs will have no idea what to expect. It’s going to be compelling viewing.”
Hosts Ant and Dec have been consulted about the switch to the 250-acre site, home to a forest and a deer park near the picturesque town of Abergele.
And they think it will make the 20th series extra special.
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The source added: “It’s been a horrendous year for the whole country and the lads want to do their bit to get viewers smiling.”
Trials are set to have a medieval theme, including jousting, dungeons and even fake gallows.
The freezing waters of the nearby Irish Sea could also be used.
A source said: “Just because it’s in the UK, it doesn’t mean that celebrities can breathe a sigh of relief and think they are free of snakes, rats and frogs.
“There are lots of plans to terrify them with some tried and tested methods.
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“There will definitely be tasks where the stars have to eat unappetising things and put creatures in their mouths like previous years.
“They’re determined to make the trials as exciting and nail-biting as possible.
“Not only will there be creepy crawlies galore, but now they have the added aid of playing with a haunted castle. They think it will make for brilliant TV.”
Crew will self-isolate on site for the three weeks of filming.
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And stars — rumoured to include Vernon Kay, Tamzin Outhwaite and Beverley Callard — are set to be lured with bumper pay packets.
ITV is thought to be spending almost £1million on taking over the venue for six weeks to prepare it for the show and restore it ready for visitors afterwards.
Spooky goings-on there include the Countess of Dundonald, who died in 1924, materialising in the halls.
Locals believe she fell out with caretaker Bill Price, who would lock up the library at night only to find it opened the next morning. Sometimes, items would have been mysteriously moved.
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Others say there is a ghost of a servant girl who died falling off a horse on the estate.
The ghosts of past gamekeepers are also said to stalk the castle’s grounds, which include a creepy pet cemetery.
There are regular organised ghost hunts at the tourist hotspot and three years ago paranormal investigators claimed to have recorded a voice from the other side.
The voice, in an area once believed to have been stables and kennels, is said to have spoken about renovation work that was returning the Grade I listed building and its gardens to their former glory.
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One castle worker said: “A few people have claimed to have seen a floating woman in white.
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“Ghost-hunters have also claimed to have felt the presence of her and gamekeepers. We think the Countess might be unhappy as her husband stripped the castle of valuables.
"They certainly didn’t have a happy marriage.”
Castle's spooky history
GWRYCH Castle was built between 1812 and 1822 by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh.
It is said to be haunted by the ghost of his granddaughter, the Countess of Dundonald, who ran it until her death in 1924.
She left the castle in her will to the Prince of Wales, later George V, but he rejected it.
During World War Two, 200 Jewish child refugees stayed there after fleeing Nazi Germany.
The castle was a backdrop for 1997 film Prince Valiant with Edward Fox and Joanna Lumley.
It began to fall into disrepair, but The Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust bought it “for the nation”, aided by lottery funding.
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